The Takakura Tales
by sugarapplesweet
Summary: After Takakura's oldest friend dies unexpectedly of a degenerative disease, he finds himself merely waiting for death to join the two. How do you decide to love while getting mixed signals from everyone in town?
1. Chapter 1: Starter Kit

**Author's Note:** I'm new to this website, so I'm afraid that I will most likely mess up the format. Please bear with me, and if you happen to see any changes that need to be made please be sure to correct me. As for this fan fiction, I always thought it was strange that in AWL for girls the main character couldn't marry Takakura. Although age could be an issue, the game allows Marlin, 32, to marry Jill. Therefore, I felt comfortable writing a fan fiction about an unrealized pairing within the Harvest Moon series.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the characters nor the universe of HM. Tanya is technically "Jill," and therefore, I have no rights to her, either.

--

**Chapter 1: Starter Kit**

When I first saw that bright red envelope, I had to wonder what kind of woman Tanya had become. I had never spoken to her although I remembered her as an extremely young child. Alexandra never wanted me to see her, but it was more of a matter of circumstances at the time. Aaron was leaving home, after all, and since he feared he would never see her again, he begged his estranged wife to bring his little girl. As a toddler, Tanya was remarkably beautiful.

I had been a young man then, merely sixteen. Although her father was only a couple years my senior, she was a happy three year old by that time. When she first arrived it was exactly seventeen years from that day when my friend and I made tracks down an uncertain path. Yes, we had our doubts, but the dream was securely imprinted on our thoughts. I wonder I would've gone along with his scheme if I'd known he'd die so young, just as our luck turned for the better?

She arrived like fresh breath of spring. Her smile was a ray of sunshine while her eyes were blooming violets. The once clouded sky became clear as she strolled through the fields, and I felt a growing warmth hearing her soothing voice. A strong longing to embrace her confused me with its absurd notions. I was thirteen years her senior, so I attributed my yearnings to feelings of my long spent youth.

"You look very much like your father, you know."

"I hope you mean more than my feet!" she laughed, nudging me in the side. "Seriously, what girl wears a size eleven!"

"Well, no... I wasn't talking about you feet," I reassured her though I secretly had to admit she had a point. "The way you look and talk is just like your father."

"Yeah... I never really knew my old man. Mum kept everything about him either a secret or a forbidden topic, and I've never seen a picture of him myself because Mum wouldn't let me have so much of a glance at him. Seeing in the man in the casket isn't the same as seeing my father."

"She's still mad at him..."

"Dang right! I don't hold a grudge against him for leaving so much as I blame Mum for staying behind. She could've gone with you and him on your grand adventure."

"Forget-Me-Not Valley's so far from town..."

"Exactly why it's so great! Did you know I've never once seen the stars? The city lights are too bright for you to see those pretty diamonds in the night sky. _Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star_ doesn't apply to a city girl growing up. Not that Mum ever sang, anyway..."

"But she had such a beautiful voice!" I slipped rather childishly.

Tanya waved it off. "That's what everyone says."

"Her singing voice was what made Aaron fall for her so blindly. He didn't even know her face, only that lovely voice of hers."

"She probably quit singing to spite her dreaming husband."

We walked to the farm in silence for a short time as I recalled the young woman nicknamed the "Bird of the Boarding House." She may have been born into a poor family, but the Goddess blesses the materially lacking with gracious talents such as hers. Alexandria was a gorgeous lass with softly curled strawberry blonde hair and darling violet eyes. Her smile was elegant with brilliant teeth that stood at perfect attention. As such, she spoke with tenderness and sang with comforting melodies while moving in delicate steps. One could watch her tirelessly.

Trying to picture her any other way difficult at best. We had grown up in the same building, and though she was half a decade older than me, I adored her. One had no choice but to cherish her fleeting visits. Some children went so far as to say she was a ghost given her creamy light skin and Victorian style dress. I, too, recognized the agelessness of her image, but I had to believe such a perfect woman existed.

"Hey, Takakura, why'd you decide to let me have a hand in this farm, anyway? I mean, you might have been my dad's friend an' all, but what convinced you that I'd be suited for this?"

"Your letter helped me realize that I can't run this farm alone."

"Aww, c'mon you can't be that old. Dad was only thirty-five, and you're younger than he was!"

"Who told you that?" I asked with a small smile.

"Some guy at the funeral. He was kind of sullen, but I saw him talking to you a lot that evening. His hairstyle was a little out there, and he had the most stern blue eyes."

"Oh, that's Marlin. Your dad and I used to be his drinking buddies for a long time."

"How old is he then?"

"Marlin should be thirty-two this year, I believe."

"Well, if he can handle it, I'm sure you and I will be just fine on our own."

"You haven't seen the property yet..."

Just as I made that comment, we stepped alongside the grazing field. She let out a broad smile, put her hands securely on her hips, and declared, "Well, I've got my life cut out for me, don't I?"

Yes, she certainly did, and neither one of us knew what may lay ahead on this path. I felt the same excitement welling up in my chest as I did so long ago when Aaron stood at my side. I was a pioneer again, out on a new frontier, yet there was a lingering concern deep inside every thought. _Will I have to see another die before me?_

--

By morning, I set out to show Tanya the ropes to farming life. She happily surprised me by greeting me at my door with a cheerful impish grin; then laughing at my bewildered expression, "Not every city girl sleeps in," she teased. "That'll teach you for judging me right off as a citidiot."

"What time were you up and running then?"

"Four. I was eager, what can I say? Anyway, I tilled some soil waiting for your lazy butt to crawl out of bed."

"Did you use my hoe? That thing's heavy..."

"No kidding! So much for you being an old man!" she scoffed with another cackle. "Takakura, I think you an' I will get along just fine!"

"You're probably right."

Her enthusiasm was nearly boundless as I showed her the bare grazing field, the crop fields which she had tilled nicely, and the hen house. While I was explaining how to go about purchasing and raising chickens, two stray mutts slipped out from around the back of the coop, and her eyes lit up like a young child's. I felt a pang of fatherly generosity watching her wrestle with the pups for a bit, and although it may have been against my personal feelings towards dogs, I asked, "Would you like to pick one for yourself?"

She squealed, trying to decide which one to keep as her own. After a time, she picked the smaller pup with pointed ears, and she dubbed him Scraps, explaining that he looked like the dogs she used to play with at the city scrap yard.

"Your mother let you go there?" I asked discerningly.

"I never told her where I went to play," she answered quietly. "All she asked was that I get good grades and dress up for company. As long as I did that, she didn't care where I went or with whom." She became unusually sullen, holding the puppy and scratching the back of his head. She looked so fragile standing there while nuzzling her face in his fur.

"Well," I muttered uncomfortably, "I'll build a dog house for the little fella later."

"What about the other one?" she asked, pointing to the lonely bloodhound.

"He'll go to the market with me tomorrow. If no one takes him, I'll keep him myself. Now come on, I have more to show you today so keep up."

"Yes, sir!" she answered with a mocking salute and a laugh.

The two of us made the last of the rounds with Scraps tailing behind with his solemn friend in tow. I gave her the tomato seeds I'd purchased preparing for the spring, and we went back to the field to plant them. Tanya knew right where to plant them in the more fertile of the two plots, and she went about it so tenderly that I had no doubts she'd be a successful farmer in time. Aaron would certainly beam to see her take to it so honestly and with such skill. _This might work out, after all_, I thought pleasantly.

Guiding her back to my house I announced, "I have one last surprise for you in the barn."

"Really? I wanna see what you've been hiding, you tease."

"You really are like your father, girl," I remarked with a tired sigh.

"If I'd been around, do you think I'd be a daddy's girl?" she asked shyly.

"Heh, I don't have to think on that one; I know you'd be Aaron's precious treasure." I chuckled, "He would've been wrapped around your finger so tight you'd be spoiled absolutely rotten."

"That's intense," she agreed with a smirk. "I wouldn't have the heart to work him that hard."

"You wouldn't have to. Here now, this is sort of my gift to you..."

As I opened the door, she shrieked unexpectedly and cried, "Ah, it's a cow!" She practically tripped over herself to hug the animal exclaiming, "Wow, she's not as huge as I expected she would be! Ha ha!"

"So... you like cows, huh?" I asked, stupefied.

"Goddess, yes! I think they're the best kind of livestock because they're so gentle, not to mention useful..."

"You haven't seen a sheep yet, I take it? They're pretty cute, too."

"Sure I have... It's just... they're Mum's favorite... not mine."

Knowing Alexandra, I understood her daughter's reluctance to be anything like her. In the back of my mind, I sometimes thought about her while carting goods to the market, and often those thoughts centered around her acting as a singer mother. She was meant to perform on a stage, seducing the audience with dramatic notes and pleasing lyrics, yet she was at home keeping house. I had nothing against her being a homemaker, but it didn't fit Alexandra.

Now I was unhappy to discover I was right.

"That's okay," I assured her, "cattle are my favorite, too."

"Good to hear," she said, her smile returning full force. "Since you love cows, too. What do think of the name Lilac?

"Thank the Goddess it wasn't 'Bessi,'" I moaned with genuine relief. At least this cow wouldn't have to suffer that indignity.

"As if I'm that unimaginative," Tanya scoffed, rolling her big violet eyes. "Besides, lilacs are my favorite flowers, so I thought since cows and lilacs are what I like best, they belong together. Just like you and me."

"What?" I gasped, somewhat startled. She was my friend's daughter, thirteen years my junior, and suddenly she was pairing us up? That was... ridiculous! Shouldn't she be interested in some "strapping young man" with an accent of some sort, no hair on his chest, and two well working legs? What was the phrase? "Tall, dark, and handsome?" Yeah, that was it! I certainly wasn't it. After all, I was a crusty, old man, right? I had a limp... these giant bushy eyebrows and a monkey face... Wait... Did I really have a monkey's face?!

"You okay, Taka?"

_Now she's giving me a nickname?_ "Huh? Oh, yeah... what was it you were saying?"

"Like you and Dad. This is our farm now, and we're partner's in this, so I'm taking my old man's place. Respectively, of course."

"Of course... Hey, you haven't met anyone formally. Let me show you around town. I'm not much of a people person, but the folks here are kind enough. Your dad was rather popular around here, so I'm sure you'll make quick friends."

--

I was certainly on the ball, too, when I said she's "make quick friends." Tanya was just that sort of person, like her father before her. Her laugh could be unnerving with its sharpness, but at least she was being honest with herself. I dwelled on this as we sat at the bar together. That cackle seemed to grow for every swig she took of her Stone Oil which was one undeniable difference of quality from her father. Both he and myself were casual drinkers going through only a couple of Cherry Pinks before heading home. She whipped through three of the strongest concoctions the house, and she wasn't bombed from it all.

"Wow, Tanya, you sure plow right through these suckers!" Muffy cheered, handing her another.

"Yeah," agreed the bartender. "Isn't it time to stop?"

"It's not every day I can drink my fill!" she shot back. "Taka here has been mighty good to me today, so I do feel kinda bad for relying on him to pay for my drinks, too."

"Oh, Takakura won't mind, I'm sure," the barmaid piped. "He's a good guy though he doesn't talk much."

"Yes, we've both known him since coming down here. He and Aaron were among the first people to settle here."

"Who was the first?"

"Lady Romana had a mansion built on the hill there," Muffy replied with glee. "That place has to have a hundred rooms!"

"Muffy... I don't think that's-"

"Griffin, I _know_ that. I'm only saying it has the most rooms anywhere around here. Anyway, she even paid to have the road paved when more people showed up. She was also the first person to have electricity in the valley."

"Before even Romana came to live here," I added, "the farm was here, though."

"Vesta's place?" she asked curiously.

"No, our property was the first," I corrected her gently.

"Hey, you and Aaron never named the place, did you?"

"We didn't think about it, I guess. Why does it matter? Everyone here knows what I'm talking about."

"Muffy does have a point, though. If you go to the city market without a name for your business, people there won't know you from the next guy. You ought to get a name for your ranch."

I sat quietly for a moment. Aaron and I had discussed naming the business a season or so before he passed away. However, we never really got anywhere with it. I had suggest we name it Alexandra Farm, but he waved it off kindly. _"That'll never do."_

_"Why not?" I asked stubbornly. After all, he couldn't keep himself from talking about her, missing her... loving her. She had been his first everything, and now she was gone. What was wrong with honoring her under his new pleasure?_

_"Because she's not a part of this, and you and I are in this together. It might mean something to me, but she has nothing to do with you."_

_Back then, I wished I could reply with honesty, but-_

"Name it 'Remember.'" Tanya decided rather suddenly. "We'll call it Remember Farm since it does act as Dad's memorial, right?"

"That's a nice thought," Griffin said with a soft, sad smile.

"Sure is," Muffy replied in a strangely solemn manner.

I nodded, saying to my empty glass, "I guess that'll be it then... Remember Farm... Aaron, your father, he would love a name like that..."


	2. Chapter 2: Midnight Confessions

**Author's Note: **I know it's probably a little soon (being that it's only been one day), but I've decided to post the second chapter. This chapter is kind of slow in my opinion though I guess that's better than feeling rushed. All reviews are kindly appreciated, so if you have anything to comment, critique, or ask, feel free to post.

--

**Chapter 2: Midnight Confessions**

The following days were mostly spent continuing with learning the basics and adjusting. Tanya was more than capable of doing everything necessary to keep things running smoothly, and she enjoyed it truthfully. She worked generously, only pausing to take a sigh or stretch her aching limbs. When she went for rounds about the valley, she did much more than chew the fat. She would gather seasonal herbs or cast a line in the river, and while she went on doing such things, she'd chat pleasantly with the village folk. I believe that even then she whole heartedly wanted to be no where other than Forget-Me-Not.

"Hey, that girl stopped by this morning."

"Did she?"

"Yeah, she gave a flower to both Celia and Vesta before going out into the fields with them. I don't really get it..."

"She can't really afford anything else, you know," I replied dully.

"I guess that's true..."

"Marlin, I can't help it..."

"Help what?"

An exasperated sigh escaped me as I leaned back on the crate which served as a counter. We were sharing a bottle of Stone Oil in the produce shed where Vesta kept her farming operation running. As the earthy scent of fruits and vegetables rotting away in a dank shack burned my nostrils, the heavy elixir scorched my throat. It was a bit unappealing, but it was out of the way and peacefully quiet. Perhaps without Aaron it was a bit _too_ silent and unsettling.

"...thinking of her as a replacement of some sort."

"Oh," he replied apathetically. "I wouldn't worry if I were you. Of course you miss the man. It's impossible not to. Even so, she wanted to come here, so you haven't done anything wrong by letting her."

"True."

Two men alone in a room with only a bottle to share between them... It may not be all that thought provoking; however, it suited the closing of the day. An evening like this and those that came before were a healing time when a man tends to the wounds of guilt and regret. My best friend was gone, and now I had to wait until the day I'd die. Only then I could be satisfied because living a life without him just seemed empty in some way. Once they set him in the ground beneath his favorite cherry tree, I could merely dream of joining him there.

If this poor old man have had his way, he would've ended it all before it began. Aaron had been the one to save me from an ill, self-imposed fate. In my younger days, I yearned to answer death's call, and surely I would've done myself in. It was a shock, really, that I lived long enough to be saved. What prodded my mind more was the question of why I wasn't the one to reach the finish line first.

"Didn't the old man save you once?"

"You're about the same age, you know."

"So are you, and you call yourself that," Marlin retorted.

_Damn, he had me there._ "Anyhow, he did save me in our younger days."

"Huh, I always figured it was rumor... He told me it was a gang of fellas that busted up your leg pretty good."

"Literally, that's a yes, but really he wasn't saving me from _them._"

_Aaron saved me from my own helpless self._

I left soon after we finished the conversation and the contents of the bottle that kept it going. When I first stepped onto the bridge, my foot nudged something. Rather, that something was a _someone_, and that someone was a cheerful young woman. Her face was smeared with dirt, but I recognized her clear violet eyes staring up at me. "Tanya? What are you doing here?"

"You weren't home," she complained. "You promised me dinner..."

I blinked for a moment until I had finished my memory search. I couldn't recall making any obligations of that sort...

"At the Blue Bar last night, you promised after Griffin was telling me how good your cookin' was."

"Honestly?" That question had been for the both of us since I hadn't the foggiest idea of what she was talking about. How many drinks _did_ I have?

"No backing out now," she insisted, hoisting herself upright. She crossed her arms and demanded, "I've been waiting all day, so there's no way in hell you're standing me up."

"It's eleven thirty..."

"Tough," she scolded, taking my arm with fierce determination. "I'm hungry and you're feeding me!"

_Yes, ma'am._

"Sorry it's not fancy. I don't do fancy this late," I said grudgingly, setting a bowl in front of her eager face.

"I'll have to put it on your tab," she replied with a pleased grin as she took a spoon full. "Wow... This _is_ awesome!"

"Sweet potato soup is all it is..."

"No, it's way more than that." She complimented it further, "Goddess, I've hit jack pot with a man like you!"

Those peculiar, yet sweet words... Whenever she uttered such things, I wanted to believe I was young again. No... What I wished for was to be someone else in youth because that was the only way I could be with a girl like her. The lass I loved in those days had certainly been better off with the man she'd married and the baby she bore. As the mother before her, she was out of my league, and being a middle-aged man flirting with a lady wouldn't make an improvement on my character.

_Why do you hang on her every word if that's how you truly feel?_

_Because..._

"That woman in the photo... She's my mother, isn't she?" Tanya sighed, gesturing towards the small end table beside my bed.

"Yes," I answered reluctantly.

"I thought so..." she mumbled disapprovingly. "Did you... like her?"

"A weighted question," I began cautiously as I approached the table. "I- While growing up, your mother and I were in the same position. We lived in a boarding house. It was a nasty place to be, yet we managed like anyone else would. I always thought she was better at coping with life's injustice because she had her voice, and all I had was my bad attitude and my fists. While she sang away her troubles, I fought through mine.

"She had many admirers, but I never took the forefront. I felt I wasn't good enough to come up to bat for her affection, I guess. I wasn't good enough for anything at that time. Alexandra had the air of perfection those days."

"Was she really that great?" her daughter asked bitterly.

"It may have looked that way then. However, I know better now. She may have appeared to be kind and gentle, but-"

"I hated her," Tanya grumbled. "I... will _always_ hate her."

"You know," I said, sitting next to her with ease, "I used to say things like that once. 'I hate him, and no matter how much time passes, I'll always hate him.' Do you know who I felt I hated so much that I would never stop hating him?"

She gazed up at me with her eyes brimming with beautiful tears, and it was all I could do to stop myself from holding her tightly against my chest. Like a child listening to a moral in a story, she waiting desperately for the ending she knew was coming. I felt a pang of fatherly affection towards this little girl, and although I didn't realize it, the same person whom I had loathed with all my heart, was smiling down on me then.


	3. Chapter 3: A Toast to Friends

**Author's Note:** I have to say that this chapter was a real joy to write. Dialogue is something I tend to fret over because I want to keep flow without cluttering the meaning behind the words. As always, the review box is open to those wishing to write comments, critiques, and suggestions. Thank you to all readers and reviewers alike.

--

**Chapter 3: A Toast to Friends**

The last waning day of the season, and the earth remained sprinkled with the last of the spring's blossoms. I stood beneath a tree waiting all alone for someone to visit with a kindly word of comfort. She'd been resting here as she watched over him. The gentle heifer lulled about elsewhere. Lilac rarely came near this spot where the shade lingers throughout the day, for she sensed the disturbed soil beneath this tree. There... right at my feet was someone who didn't belong under the surface.

_Aaron, what the hell do you want me to do, dammit?_

I know that some prayers go unanswered. Even so, I carefully lowered myself to have a heart to heart with my old friend. My bad knee almost jammed, but since I'd reached the ground, I made it without too much trouble physically. I imagined him smiling up to me as though he had one of life's secrets crawling into his mind. Right here, back against the skinny trunk is where he used to sit, and the pair that we were we'd discuss both the little things in life to the bigger scene before us.

_You always had the answers, so I have to ask. Did you know you were going to die so soon?_

Although there was no one to reply with words, I have the answer, and it's one I don't want to own. He felt the end coming each passing day in that last year, and he told me about the pains with the look in his eye. He knew he was a dying man which I can simply image tore him apart further on the inside. To see death running you down is far, far worse than ignorance. If you don't see the end pursuing you, you can live without concern. When you're staring it down in the face... you're stuck there, unable to flee... unable to live.

_Why didn't you say something? I wouldn't have locked you away, but at least I could've been there if it was too much to bear._

More silence followed, but I remained at his side. Aaron saved my sorry ass once as a young man. He was fifteen then though I couldn't have guessed it. By no measure was he tall or chiseled, but he had such a fierce fighting spirit in his copper eyes. Until that moment, I only caught glimpses of him backstage... with Alexandra. That was what caused my hate to seed and from there grow. From the first time I saw that gray, newspaper boy's cap over his brunette head, I wanted him gone.

_Now you really have left, and I wish you were back here with me. Strange how things alter themselves, isn't it?_

"Hey, Taka, you're back!" she greeted me with a smile and a whole-hearted wave.

She was on her own again that day, but she didn't appear to be as worn out as she had on other days by then. I was surprised to see her clothes weren't caked with dirt like usual. "Afternoon, Tanya. Been busy?" I asked raising my brow.

"Yeah, sorta," she admitted shyly. She wouldn't look me in the eye.

"Where'd you head off to?"

She glanced away, blushing, "Just to see Marlin. I had a question about my seeds, and you told me he knows his stuff, so..."

"No need to be embarrassed," I assured her. "Marlin's a good guy once you get past the gruff exterior."

"Do you and him go drinking often?" She seemed interested. Until now, she only drank with me at the Blue Bar. Given the distant gaze, it wasn't a hard guess as to why. She was a fairly easy read.

"I guess. Why? You wanna come?" I offered, my voice brighter than it should've been.

"Yeah, sorta," she said with a smile.

_Well, old friend, I'm not sure what to tell you that night, but Goddess knows we were gonna have another go at being young._

--

A rather strange gathering of valley regulars-the twins, Gustafa, Nami, and Carter-had already placed themselves at the bar's counter when we arrived with me trailing behind once again. The way was dark earlier that night as the time for the new moon had come. I saw them some passes ahead talking uncertainly with one another. However, she was far more comfortable with him than he was with her. It was in his nature, I suppose. Really, I thought highly of Marlin because he appeared to be someone I could relate to being that he was quiet and reserved for the most part. It may not be a manly observation, yet I'm confident it's true. She'd need a husband like him one day.

Setting up couples has never been my forte, but I reasoned I could have some say in this one. Men have their own way of getting things like relationship moving along though we might not be as talented as women at it. All it takes is a few drinks, some sparse comments, and the fellow's gears start turning. Being that the man was an associate of mine would undoubtably make the whole job easier, and I couldn't be jealous of a close friend.

_Wait... jealousy wasn't a concern... Or was it?_

"Pull up to the bar fellas!" Griffin called to us in the doorway. "There's enough room left for you lot!"

Grinning awkwardly towards the full house, Marlin and I hesitated before Tanya set her sights on charging into the drunken fray. She looked ready for an eventful evening while ushering us in to join. I laughed in spite of myself at her childish antics. _What would a father do?_ I had to wonder. The patrons were in a frenzy tonight while Muffy and Griffin were hauling ass to keep every man, and Nami, satisfied. Drunken yammerings blistered a person's ears, and with all the yelling across the bar, one couldn't make out anything resembling a conversation.

"Come on guys! I got us a spot!" she waved ecstatically. She had sat herself on the far end of the counter. I could see she wanted desperately to be the center of attention, but she was too kind to pull two conservative sorts into that mass of confusion. Her eyes never left us while we continued to putts in the entry, too unsure to budge. At last I saw her sigh, drag Muffy away from Kassey's demands to order up a couple bottles, one of Cherry Pink and one of Stone Oil, and head back our way.

"Let's go, boys. We'll come another time," she cooed. "I can't enjoy myself when you feel so out of place."

"If you want to stay, we can drink outside," I offered.

"Naw, I wanted to come with you two," she assured me. Marlin and I just followed behind as she burst with tales she'd gathered that day. Apparently seeing the twins and their flirtatious behavior gave her quite the laughing fit, and she chatted excitedly about the traveling bard and all his wonderful stories. She seemed pretty impressed with his guitar playing although she didn't care for his voice. However, I wasn't focusing clearly on what she had to say, for my mind had drifted elsewhere as I wondered why she'd leave the bar being that she found the people there so captivating.

_We're Tanya's boys,_ I realized then. She may have loved a good party, but when she's found someone who needs her around, she can't turn her back on them for her pleasure. She wanted to have us with her because she knew otherwise we'd be on our own, and that was something she never wanted. For someone to be as alone as she was...

Marlin muttered to me, "Where are we gonna go?"

"It's her call," I said casually. "She invited us to join her, so what'll it be?"

"Let's go to the grave," she suggested. "I know it's a weird place to share a drink, but I figure Dad could use some company."

"Fine by me." I answered with a shrug. "How about it, Marlin?"

"You guys are odd."

She cackled and snickered back, "Well, at least you won't be on your own on that one."

I couldn't have imaged I'd be sitting beside my old friend while sharing drinks with the ones I had left. Where he lay was bare, so we made ourselves comfortable in a crescent shape around him as his daughter dolled out the drinks. She was remarkably at ease drinking practically on his grave. I had no idea whether it was a sign of love or indifference toward him, but she was trying to keep things light.

After many hours with a couple bottles gone and a trip to buy another round, we talked loudly into the early morning. Tanya kept giving out drinks one after another until she just passed the bottle. Marlin could hold his liquor, but even this was a trial tonight. My mind was going hazy, yet she continued to keep herself sturdy. I vaguely wondered where she could be putting it all with that small body of hers.

Handing me my poison, she asked, "You said Dad's favorite was Cherry Pink, right?"

"Uh-huh. He used to drink it with us every time we got together."

"I prefer Stone Oil myself, though," our friend muttered before knocking the bottle back.

"Good to know. Now I won't have to drink it all alone," she scoffed. "First time Taka drank it with me, he got so shit-faced he promised me dinner, and last week it was breakfast."

For the first time since Aaron's death, I heard Marlin roar with laughter, and soon we were all howling at the strangeness of it all. That morning had been hell. Not only was my head thundering, but I had to go to market as well. Tanya being Tanya, she dragged me out of bed around four, warning me, "If you don't make me something to eat, I'll tan your ugly hide!"

"Dear Goddess, give me strength," I mocked in prayer. I'm sure it was better off she was asleep this night, given how much her name had been misused.

"Look what you got yourself into, old man. Now you've got yourself hitched to a demanding woman. Didn't I tell you most women are like my sister, hot-headed and stubborn?"

"Vesta's not that bad," Tanya protested, putting her ear and shaking an empty bottle. With a disgusted look, she set down the lingering drops of the Stone Oil and began to work on what was left of the Cherry Pink. She winced at the sweet flavor, grumbling something along the lines of not being good alcohol with all that sugar.

"You're not the one living with her," he shot back irritably with a groan as he rocked back some.

"Well, didn't you say Celia is with her most of the time?" I asked curiously.

"That's part of the problem..." he said after a little moan.

"Oh, I see... You got yourself set on Celia, so you have to tolerate your sister because the two are on good terms," she observed with a smirk. How she could reason at this point, I hadn't the foggiest.

His face got red hot. "You don't know what you're saying..."

"Sure I do," she taunted, leaning into him. She whispered slyly grinning like a fox, "Just say it. You like Celia."

"Woman," he threatened nervously, "don't you be talking about that."

"Fine, but let's raise a toast to it, eh?" she remarked, putting an arm around his stiff shoulder and raising her glass. "To a love that will never be until a certain _someone_ tells the girl of his dreams!"

"Cheers," I replied with a chuckle. Had Aaron been alive, I knew he would've made a similar declaration. It was in their nature to make the nights seem a little brighter, life a little more hopeful. As she poured the last drops of Cherry Pink onto his grave explaining, "Dad wants to be a part of this, too," I found my friend once again in a new face.

--

**Final Author's Note:** I know that both Marlin and Takakura appear out-of-character in this chapter, but I felt the two would be happy drunks since they're so serious during game play. I find it strange that so many people make the two out to be bitter rivals when in AWL you can join them while they drink together in two separate cut scenes.


	4. Chapter 4: Burning Inside

**Author's Note:** Again, it may be too early with an update, but after reading this chapter over, I feel it's presentable. Thanks to everyone for reading! I hope you enjoy yet another chapter of The Takakura Tales!

--

**Chapter 4: Burning Inside**

Summer is the worst of seasons. It's not only unbearably hot, but the humidity hanging over the valley is intolerable as well. Lilac and I were in agreement on that point while we exhausted ourselves trying to find some salvageable shade to rest in. I had laid myself against her broad side drifting in and out of sleep. There are some benefits to being an old man with only his mornings filled by honest work. As I lay there, I knew Tanya, in all her youthfulness, was unbothered by this clinging weather, and she kept going on about her business.

After basically confessing Marlin's love for Celia _for _him, she hadn't continued to pursue the man. When I asked her if she ever liked him to begin with, she merely laughed. "I did for a while," she admitted, "but he told me later that the two have an arranged marriage. I guess he wants to honor that."

"I always thought he hated that tradition..." I remarked with some sense of uncertainty.

"He does, but that doesn't mean he hates her," she reasoned. "That's what has him too confused to make a move." It was a familiar line of reasoning I'd only heard from one other.

She may have smiled then, but she looked so down. I recognized that expression because it, too, was just like her father. I had been trying not to compare them, yet no matter what she did or how, I saw Aaron. Every time I did it, I felt like I was being unfair. She was her own person, and here I kept making her into some image of him. I worked especially hard not to tell her. She didn't need to listen to an old man ramble.

There were times I knew it'd make her smile, though. When I pulled one of those from my mind, she'd beam radiantly at me, and she'd ask me to tell her more stories of her father on the farm. It thrilled her to no end. The cackle I once thought was harsh began to sound pleasant to my ears. Her joy was captivating. That happiness was certainly all her own.

_You're becoming strange, Takakura. Very, very strange._

Yes, I could feel it resurface from time to time. I thought I could replace those emotions with fatherly devotion, but these things were becoming more complicated. Everything is complicated eventually, yet time was moving too fast. Perhaps in a way, it always had been racing ahead of me. If I had done myself in before meeting Aaron, maybe I could've been reborn. Surely a three year gap between us would've been more bearable.

_"Never wish you could've died, Kura. I never want to hear it again," he scolded me, smacking me across the back of my head._

_I whipped around, perturbed but not yet angry, "But, Aaron, it's the honest to Goddess truth! I'd rather be dead right now than to see you and Alexandra end it here. You're marriage was fine before I had to show up in your life. It's my fault she wants you gone..."_

_"No, that's not it at all. Alex... she only loves herself. Marrying me was only flattery to herself."_

_"She loves you, Aaron. You... you know she has to..." I nearly whispered. If I hadn't told him about that blasted property, he wouldn't feel he had anywhere to go. At least then he could keep the wife and daughter he loved more than even himself. Why couldn't he see that I was to blame?_

_The look he gave me was one of pity. He tried to ruffle by newly cut hair, marred by that lonely smile, as he said, "That's it right there... 'she has to.'"_

"Taaakaaa!"

I opened a lazy eye as Lilac snorted with displeasure at being woken up in such a rude fashion. Tanya had strode herself over the back of her new stallion, Surge, and I asked myself what the true intent of this gift had been. The heifer was a token of hospitality, so what was the horse? Yes, I had given her the animal, but I had some doubts as to why I did the act. She commented once while I was preparing lunch (need I say why?) she had always wanted a riding horse. It was a child's dream, and being a "father" wishing to comply with his daughter's wish, I brought him with my own savings.

_Is that really it, or was there an ulterior motive?_

_Of course not! How could I..._

_You tell me, Takakura._

"You okay?" she asked with her innocent, violet eyes questioning me. "Is the heat getting to you?"

"A little," I confessed.

"How about a swim then?"

"Where could we possibly swim around here?"

"Duh, there's a beach," she chided gently.

"True." Yes, but that beach was a place I tried to ignore. It was a setting I chose to use as a sacred land for questioning life and other things. Besides, the sun would've baked whatever energy I had left right out of me.

"You're out of it this week, more than usual even. Shouldn't you enjoy yourself a little?"

"Summer... doesn't agree with me," I muttered, resting my arm over my brows. "I'm too old."

"None of that 'too old' spiel. It's not gonna work with me anymore, big guy." Glancing up, I noticed she'd put her fists on her hips again. I had to chuckle. She looked fierce, all right. Just like a miffed child.

"The sun... that's the problem. It's too... intense. If heat's supposed to rise, why's the valley so blasted hot in summer?" I complained wearily.

I heard her laugh and felt her take my hand. She surprisingly managed to lift me up, and after seeing the shocked expression on my face, she smiled brilliantly. "You're not a big man at all! Come on, Bones, let's go to the waterfall. It's shady there."

I was a young man again as she led me down the forest path. I never dated in my teenage years, or any years in all honesty, but I imaged that this was how it felt. To find someone to love is never easy, and I guess I should've felt grateful she dragged me along. However, I was brimming with doubts. _I'm an old man. Why am I going with her on a date? Wait, she never said it was a date, did she? Why would I even consider that?_

I was clueless to my own heart. She was running so fast, and though I know the way, I was completely lost. I could only let her hold my hand.

"Tanya," I panted once we arrived at our destination, "it's not relaxing if you- have to- run..." She wasn't even sweating. Some spark lit into her eye as I caught my breath. We were standing right over the pool beneath the thundering waterfall. Although one can't see it from the base of the cliff wall, snow-capped mountains rose high above the valley. From up there, water came from the melting ice, merging from trickles, into streams, into rivers, and at last, into the sea. It was chilling to wade through the water here, but she didn't seem to realize or care. Her mind was dead set on going for a swim and taking me with her.

"Freshen up then!" she cheered, shoving me into the alarmingly cold water. I breathed it in with a yell as my knee wracked with pain until I managed to emerge and gasp for air. It felt as though my leg had been ripped apart. She cackled sitting there with her legs crossed. Her laughter only stopped when she glimpsed the pain in my weathered face. "You all right? Did I bang you up?"

"No," I lied, trying to pop my knee back into proper alignment. She hadn't meant to hurt me, so I decided not to worry her.

Her grin returned, more mischievous than before. "You're all wet," she snickered.

I stood there stunned and blushing for a moment before shrieking, "What?!"

She cocked her head to study me, the flustered fellow with the big eyebrows and long, drawn face. I couldn't help seeing her as a woman then. The gentle curve of her jaw, the small frame of her body, and the sincerity in her eyes were all the traits of a woman, yet her childish hairstyle and impish grin were that of a child. How I could say with the same honesty that she was beautiful and at the same time claim she was adorable? I was among the worst of criminals with thoughts such as those.

"Wait!" I panicked once again. "What are you doing?"

"Going for a swim?" she replied, pulling her shirt over her head revealing an olive green bikini top. I flushed deeper, flailing into the water again. I had to turn away. This girl taking off her work clothes and showing me her swimwear was my friend's daughter. His _daughter_ of all people, and here I was getting upset with myself because I couldn't deny seeing her as something of a woman. She was... after all.

"Are you okay?" she asked in a motherly tone, touching my shoulder gently. _No... don't... please, Goddess no..._

_I'm an old man! Young women don't swim alone with old men... and in a bikini, no less! I'm thirty-three, dammit! And, you're, what? Twenty? I-I couldn't... I wouldn't... I wasn't..._

_Was I?_

All this time, I had been content to see myself as a father figure, and now... now I wasn't sure of that. It was eerie how I felt inside. She's so damn young, and yet I feel like I did when I first saw Alexandra. Five years between us was frightening enough while thirteen years was plain cruel. I couldn't ask for love out of a mere child. I shouldn't have let my illusions get so close to my heart. I was the one in the wrong. _I_ made the mistake of making into something I wasn't...

"Son of a-"

"What? What happened? Wait, don't go down, Takakura! Is it your knee? It is, isn't it?! Ah, hell..." Her face was tight with worry. I shouldn't have let her drag me down there.

"Just fetch Marlin!" I snapped. "I'll drag my ass on my land."

"Okay... okay..." she whispered in hurt and concern, leaving me to care for my own worthless self. She ran in that terrible state. Not only was she crying, but she was running through the valley in nothing more than some remnants of fabric and string called a swimsuit. Even then, I could only watch her from behind arguing myself over whether it was a nice view or an unforgivable sin.

--

"Takakura, you're not a young man anymore. You can't just jump into these things so carelessly."

"Sorry... Tanya... she pushed me."

"Still doesn't mean you had to go jumping in."

"Dr. Hardy, what I'm saying is she pushed me _into_ the water."

The man's good eye studied me for a time before he gave a heavy sigh. My body never did work right, but at least I can function without people's stares haunting me as I stumble by. We're both crippled though that's where the similarities end. His deformity was caused by kindness. Mine was teenage angst and stupidity. One would figure I'd have learned by now what my own thinking does to a man like me.

"You shouldn't involve yourself with someone that much younger than you," he warned. "I'm not saying it doesn't work out from time to time, but you look far older than you truly are. You've _seen_ far more than that girl." He had come from town after getting a rather gruff phone call from an irritated Marlin, and he apparently was forced to cancel his visit to his former pupil in Mineral Town. Normally, I'm sure he would've been more gentle with his lecture, but my fooling around with someone a more than a decade my junior made him justifiably bitter.

"I know..."

"Do you know?" he asked sharply. The even way with which he spoke was far more intimidating in its blatant disapproval. "I don't believe that's the case. You've been at the bar with her at night while I've been trying to enjoy myself. Galen, too. We're true old men, genuine old men like us honestly see things."

"Are you accusing me of something?" I growled a challenge.

He merely glanced over his shoulder. "No, I'm giving you a warning. No middle-aged man should try to find love in someone so distant from his years."

"But, I'm not-"

"Aren't you? That's how Galen and I see it."

"She's just the daughter of an old friend, and you want to blame me for seemingly pursuing her?" I muttered remorsefully.

"Yes, with the way you look at her," he insisted, handing me my knee brace. "You're eyes can't lie. Even under those brows of yours, I can see."

I don't know whether I was flustered or furious. I rarely raise my voice because there's no need for it any longer. My body's too tired for that. I felt my cheeks burning with some emotion I could only understand as something foreign. I can't look into my own eyes when I look at her, so how can I know what lingers there? I was foolish not to recognize my short comings in that I perhaps loved her without knowing.

"Quit questioning yourself if you love her or not," he advised on his way out my door. "Ask yourself if as a middle-aged man, do you have the right?"

--

"Taka... are you all right?"

"As all right as I can be, I guess," I answered gruffly. She winced assuming I was angry about my tumble. Around her eyes, her face was puffy and red, but her tears appeared to have dried by the time I had limped out of my humble shack. She was carrying a small basket in her hands, and I could smell Ruby's famous secret spice most likely added to a nice curry dish. I took it gently as she handed it to me apologetically.

"Heh... Sorry about all this... I went overboard..."

"I'll be fine. I just have to wear a brace. An old man like me should be grateful it only came to that."

She boldly stepped in front, hands on her hips as she glared me down. Her narrowed eyes were uncharacteristically upset as she started in with a lecture of her own. "Why do you insist on calling yourself an _old man_? If you feel so damn old, then what are you doing here? My dad was never _old_, and he still died. What does that mean for you? Are you gonna die on me, too?"

"Tanya!"

"No, _you_ listen here. I've had it up to here with you on that point. That's why I took you out for a swim with me! If being old is a state of mind, where does that leave you? It leaves you _dead_!"

Her words stung. It burned me inside, really. Even old men have fragile hearts, and she had struck the breaking point. I felt as though I should collapse in the dirt for the blow that had nailed me to my own cross. How many times I truly had wished for death, and now there was someone challenging me on it. No one had ever been so firm with me. If she was that much older than me in spirit, was I the one that was too young?

_"I don't believe someone should wish for their death. It's worse than another telling you to die. At least then you can make your own choice on the matter, and you can chose to live. Once you wish for death out of your heart, there's nothing anyone can really do to keep you from dying."_

_Then what about you? Did you chose to die?_


	5. Chapter 5: Once Upon a Time

**Author's Note:** I'm chugging right along with this one, folks. I keep asking myself if it's too soon for an update, but I guess it doesn't matter since I have up to Chapter 12 typed and ready to go. If you catch any glaring errors or want to make a suggestion, please feel free. I _am_ trying to become a better writer, after all. :D

Sorry that Marlin and Takakura aren't that much fun drinking this time around.

--

**Chapter 5: Once Upon a Time**

"She's pretty miffed at you, you know."

"It's not like I haven't noticed," I grumbled back. Marlin kept staring at the dirt while he propped himself on the counter with his elbows. We hadn't drank alone for some time, and now I was wondered why the hell we decided to in the first place. The once comforting building now felt like little more than a prison cell where my cell mate and I shared the toilet brew. As far as Stone Oil was concerned, it was close enough.

"You're usually not this irritable," he observed taking a sip.

"And you're not this gentle. Things are going well for you and Celia, eh?"

The man blushed, smiling all the same. I took that to be my answer, and although I was in a troublesome spot, I had to glad for him. "Nice to know you'll be a happier man soon."

"In all honesty," he replied quietly, "I really wasn't unhappy there in the first place. Celia's been... very good to me... all this time."

"I'm very happy for you."

"Too bad I can't say the same for you at the moment." He seemed a little smug for my tastes. Must've been a side-affect of his newfound confidence in love. Whatever the case, I didn't care for it.

"Well, that's something I have to figure out on my own," I replied gruffly.

More silence and a couple more shots into my system stagnated the conversation for a while. On that day when Tanya bulldozed me with her accusations, I was already out of sorts given my bummed up knee and scolding. When the flood of realizations had slammed into me, I felt mortified at what I found dwelling in my heart. There was a chance it was a blessing she was ignoring me. Perhaps all these feelings might blow right over, and then I would've have to think them over anymore.

"You can't help being yourself," he said after a half hour or so of solemn throw backs. "As far as you're concerned, you've always thought of yourself as an old man. It's not out of the ordinary by any means."

"But she cried, Marlin. It was like... at her father's funeral. She knew nothing other than he had left her and her mother to start a farm with a friend of his, yet she cried as if he'd been her everything."

"Maybe he was the one who gave her hope in that city? She gets angry whenever she remembers that place. There's the possibility that dreaming of one day being with her father on your farm gave her something to look forward to. After he died, she was probably scared that her dream was over, too."

"I understand your reasoning, but what does it have to do with me?" I asked.

He thought on it for a brief second before concluding, "She's afraid of losing the only other person who could support that dream... and maybe more."

"Don't be a damn fool. What else could she want with me?"

The smile he had was unfamiliar compared to his scowl, but I recognized the laughter in his eyes though his were blue and hers were violet. "Nothing if you're gonna keep this old man act up," he joked casually, another first.

--

Once again I found myself sitting alongside my old friend in the ground. The grass had long since grown over him, but I still could tell where he lay. He was smiling that timeless grin for eternity here. I, being the sole heir seeing how his wife refused the family's share, was given the choices and means of burial as well as his appearance for the viewing and beyond. I was the one to request he keep the smile he had passed with instead of lie solemn until death truly ravaged him.

_That would've never suited you. We both agreed on that point from the beginning, and I can't say I regret that statement, either._

Aaron was rarely caught without his signature smile, and even while he had no reason to, his lips settled into a grin at rest. It's hard to believe I could have hated such a jovial young man, but I suppose I was merely envious. He was an individual who could have everything without owning anything, and he preferred that kind of lifestyle.

When I first met him back stage with Alexandra, I think it was his nature that first enraged me. As I said before, he wasn't overly masculine, yet that endless smile horrified me. How could anyone genuinely express that much joy? His jeans were torn and grease stained as was his button-down shirt, but though he looked worse for wear, he was content, perhaps elated, with that. Even shooting him my most bitter scowl, he merely laughed it off.

_You knew I was all for show, didn't you? I never met anyone that determined to make a friend before Alexandra introduced us. Funny how the woman who threatened to tear us apart was the one to first bring us together._

I overheard someone's footsteps coming towards me, and I was brought out of my one way conversation with a dead man. Not surprisingly, Tanya rounded the barn with a set look on her face. She was trying unsuccessfully not to meet my eyes, and though it was forced, she stifled an urge to greet me. "Evening," I said simply. "Not talking to me yet?"

She flashed a smile without realizing it, and I knew I had her. After hearing me chuckle, she muttered a half-hearted, "Dammit."

"How about a drink since we're on speaking terms again?" I offered.

"What? Is Marlin no fun now that he has Celia?" she asked curiously, an eyebrow raised.

"Unfortunately."

"Fine, but only because I don't want you to get too lonely by yourself," she teased.

--

Given how much Tanya was telling me that night, it was an easy guess that our silence had been killing her. She rattled on and on while putting away more and more liquor. Dr. Hardy and Galen glared at me from their corner of the bar, but I didn't give them much thought. I wasn't feeling like an old man these days, so I had the mindset not to give their opinions any strength. Whether it was love or not, I enjoyed hearing her stories. She was a good storyteller.

"Rock is such a block head sometimes, you know? He never seems to think these things through. Lumina's a proper young girl, and he's just being obnoxious. Maybe that's her thing, but I'd prefer someone a little more mature. I mean, all he talks about is partying without realizing you need the finances for such things."

"He's never been responsible," I replied calmly. "To tell the truth, I'm relieved to hear you don't care for him much._ I_ wouldn't be able to tolerate him on our property for long."

"No shit," she remarked. She was getting a little frustrated, and I was beginning to wonder about whether I should let her have any more. She wasn't just down two or three glasses, she was up to two bottles of the stuff. "Goddess," she fumed, "might I pray you strike some common sense into that boy? For Lumina's sake if nothing else..."

"She's still asleep," I reminded her. The Goddess had been dormant long before we had settled the valley. As far as anyone truly knew, she might no even be in the spring at all. Heaven knows I hadn't caught so much of a glimpse of her or the Harvest Sprites which were legendary as the Goddess's little helpers. It was a nothing more than a children's bedtime story like that of maidens in peril and princes in armor. I had only meant that as a joke, but Tanya took it much further.

"Maybe it's time someone woke her up then," she decided, scooting her stool back from the counter. As she stormed out of the bar, I left the tab for another night and took to hot pursuit. I could hear Muffy and Griffin chuckle with the door slamming behind me.

For being as plastered as she was, Tanya certainly was quick. She might've whistled Surge over, but I doubted he would answer her call this late at night. I also questioned whether she had the coordination to handle such a maneuver. I surely wouldn't be able to throw myself onto any animal after consuming that level of alcohol. I hobbled along after her merely guessing she went for the spring. She was certainly peculiar tonight though it didn't take much speculation as to why. Next time I'd have to be sure to keep her to a one bottle limit.

"Tanya, where the hell are you?"

"Trying to wake the bitch up!" she answered whole-heartedly.

"Come on, it's late... and Carter and Flora are trying to sleep across the way..."

"They can't hear me over the waterfall!" she bellowed.

_Well, __now__ they can, _I thought irritably.

"Goddess, Goddess in the spring, come now take the gifts I bring." Although tipsy, I had to admit the tune wasn't bad. She was nothing compared to her mother, but it was close enough to recognize a hit of that magic. "Quiet time has ended, now wake from time suspended. Please hear my simple wish..."

I waited with her for a time, but the spring remained lost in silence. The Goddess would sleep until the land was filled with "beautiful things" according to the legend. However, if one asked the people living here, it was already the most pristine land one could dream of. I had come to accept she might not ever show.

Still, there were people who continued to pray each and every day that the Harvest Goddess would one day appear to us. Apparently Tanya was one of those believers, and she was giving it her all that night.

"Damn her," she cursed harshly. "She's just mad because I haven't gotten myself a man after those Sprites gave me that blasted blue feather. I'm not alone... Why'd they have to give me something I don't need?"

"A blue feather?" I questioned, not bothering to wonder how she came to meet a sprite outside of her alcohol induced illusions.

"Yeah..." she said, slipping it out of her rucksack. It was a brilliant blue, far more startling than any other color imaginable. I had seen them in the cities going for over a 1,000 coin, but I'd never known anyone to own one. When Aaron proposed to Alexandra, it was a matter of keeping her honor, so a blue feather or a ring never came into the equation.

"Do you know what it's for?"

Tanya shook her head. "I have a guess, though."

"It's for proposing," I explained. "It used to be the way the poor folks would propose to one another because they couldn't afford something like a gold ring. Now it's pretty hard to even get a hold of one."

"I guessed right then," she said with a sigh. "It's special right, so should I drop it in?"

"What?"

"Should I drop it in to wake the Goddess?" she asked again. Given her expression, I knew my answer really didn't matter, she was going to do it anyway. So much for _Rock's_ lack of common sense.

"Don't!"

Just as I went to take it, she gave a little yelp and fell into the spring. Of course, I fell in, too, but this time my knee didn't give. It couldn't seeing as how the brace was still secure, not to mention there was no sense of a bottom to the watery depths. Being drunk beyond reason, Tanya continued to thrash about in the icy water until I managed to swim over to her. She was insensibly frantic as she tried to keep her head above water. With some effort, I hauled her up on dry land, and her screaming stopped.

"What the hell, man?!" she gasped, struggling to stand.

I hoisted her up with one arm and chuckled, "When you're drunk off your ass, you tend to do stupid things. Besides, I think this makes us even." She looked at me blankly and then started to laugh with that cackle of hers. She shook her head, said something along the lines of going home for bed, and then she was walked off. The chill of the water might've shocked her enough to take off the edge of the Stone Oil in her system. However, I worried over whether I should job after her to make sure she made it all right. Then again, she could fair better without me interfering. After all, I had been the one to send her falling head over heels into the water with me.

I heard her singing as she drifted along the forest path, "I'm drunk an' I wanna go home... I'm drunk an' I wanna go to bed..." The last notes were cracking miserably in my ears...

Although I could hear past that, I knew the rest from when Aaron had had a few too many at the Blue Bar. I sang in the glow of the mysterious flowers in my husky tone, "I'm drunk an' I wanna go home. I'm drunk an' I wanna go to bed. Been drinking since an hour ago, an' it's gone straight to my head." It was a catchy tune that made you remember all the good times you've had until you just couldn't handle any more. I found it cute to hear her going on like her father always had.

While thinking on this, a sharp hue caught my eye. It was laying at the edge of the spring, untouched by the chaos that had ensued. Gently, I lifted it up into the light, and by doing so, I suddenly saw the green, indigo, and violet iridescent colors playing on its cerulean surface. If a man were to propose with this feather, this would be the perfect setting in which to show the special nature of _his _proposal. No other blue feather had this magic.

Reflecting on it, I decided to keep it with me because I was beginning to see that this had purpose. I couldn't deny that any longer.

--

**Final Author's Note:** That little diddy right there is something two of my uncles usually end up singing by the closing of every family get-together, and I couldn't help but imagine Aaron and Tanya singing it loud and clear into the night. So here's to my uncles, happy drunks though they may be.


	6. Chapter 6: Onward

**Author's Note:** Meh, I don't know if I like this chapter or if it even serves any purpose... -- Please give me any opinions or suggestions on it because I really don't know...

--

**Chapter Six: Onward**

"What's your favorite season, Taka?" Tanya asked from her perch on the roof of the barn. We had been hit by a typhoon the night before, and it had damaged the building. She'd insisted on repairing the leak herself being that I was still hampered by my knee brace. Although I couldn't quite see it, she insisted the job was flawlessly finished. However, she had seemingly decided not to come down for the moment. _She really can be such a child_, I thought peacefully to myself.

"Hmm? Autumn, I guess," I answered with a shrug. "It's certainly the most comfortable."

"Me, too," she agreed with a chipper voice. "I like it because of all the good food! Then there's the leaves! The red ones are so striking it takes your breath away!"

"Fall's coming around the bend in the next couple of days," I told her with some genuine excitement of my own. No more blasted heat to keep me in a lethargic mindset. I could actually get some quality work done after a season filled with lazing about with Lilac in the pasture.

"Yeah... I'm gonna miss that star, though," she replied with a bit of reluctance. Her eyes gazed off into the distance across the sea, and a slight summer's breeze brushed her hair gently. She appeared unearthly beautiful in an instant. Dirt may have been her make-up, but it was a reminder for me that she was indeed _real_. No other woman had made me feel that way, I'm certain.

"Which one?" I asked trying to ignore the feelings that surfaced. I didn't want to think about those things right there when she might be able to see my thoughts working in my expression.

"That one, over the ocean. See it?" she pointed ahead of us. Of course it was the same brilliant red of autumn leaves, not to mention the most notable one, that she referred to. Dusk was only just approaching, yet there it was, defying the lazy sunset. Tanya was utterly enthralled, her eyes wide with admiration and wonder. I, too, felt rather spectacular as I gazed into the sky. When was the last time I looked into the night sky? Was it last when I fell in love? Far too long ago...

"Hey, about the other night..." she began bashfully, glancing away.

"Don't worry about it none," I assured her with a laugh. "It was fun seeing _you_ over do it for once."

"I sort of deserved it after hitting you up for so many meals," she admitted. Even she had to smile at that idea.

"Speaking of which, you can't cook very well, can you?" I asked innocently. Whenever she was hungry, she came straight to me, and if I wasn't home, I had overheard Ruby comment on how often she came to visit her for something to nibble on. She rarely was even home long enough to start up a simple salad or something... In any case, it was noticeable enough to me to worry. Had I known she couldn't cook, I would've gladly made her meals

She blushed and turned away from me more with a little, "Humph." She could be so stubborn at times, yet it was a part of her charm. After all, Tanya was the eternal child in many ways though she did enjoy the pleasures of being an adult (perhaps to excess). I suppose I was right to confuse her as a young girl and a woman, for she acted in both roles with the same honesty. It didn't make my affections any easier to understand, however.

"That's all right," I attempted to comfort her. "I don't expect every woman to be able to cook, so I doubt anyone else would complain, either."

"Mum used to get upset with me because I couldn't even handle soup from a can," she confessed shyly. "She said that I'd never find a husband if I didn't know my way around the kitchen, so I guess I get nervous about that from time to time." _Why let her hurt you?_ I thought sadly. _Don't you see how valuable you are?_ Her mother seemed to overwhelm all of her thoughts when it came to her weaknesses. What mother would exploit such tender subjects in her daughter? Whatever Alexandra's reasons, I wouldn't allow her child to believe she was anything less than perfect for herself. I certainly couldn't let her think otherwise.

"Any luck on that husband search of yours?" I pressed uncertainly, hoping to raise her spirits. "I know I brought it up to you earlier that your dad was hoping to make the farm into a family thing, but I wondered if you gave it any serious thought."

"I have thought on it," she mumbled quietly, "but all the single guys here are either not worth my time, have someone they're after, or not interested."

"None are too old for you?" I passed off out of both personal and overall curiosity. Her violet eyes centered on me for a time, yet she sort of let the question hang between us. It wasn't anger or disgust that lingered beneath the surface, but I was unnerved by her intensity. She didn't seem the type to think much on age, appearance, or anything of that nature. From listening to her talk about the men of the valley, I understood she admired intelligence and will over brute strength and elegant charm.

"I guess that doesn't matter, does it? My parents were so young when they got married, but I'm older now than they were then. It depends on who the person was, I suppose," she said at last, still studying me.

"Yeah. I wouldn't advise _anyone_ to get married as young as they were. Fifteen and eighteen year olds aren't always ready to make a commitment, especially to someone else equally inexperienced."

"They didn't have much of a choice. I truly believe Dad loved Mum because I know I wouldn't be here, otherwise," she explained. "He could've ran off to someplace where no one knew who either he or Mum was, but he decided to marry her. She was socially tainted anyway, but he did his best to make things right."

"Yes, he certainly did..." These were things I never thought I'd have to discuss with her, the daughter of circumstances beyond her control. I had to ask myself how much her mother told her about her own conception. Did Alexandra blame Aaron, the young man who ended her performing career by sweeping her off her feet and into his bed? Was that the only thing Tanya had known before her father's death and coming here?

"Mum told me you were the only witness for the wedding ceremony."

"She did?" That surprised me. Though the statement was true, I was amazed that Alexandra would comment on that fact. From what I could tell, she barely knew I existed. In her defense, I never really showed myself to her before Aaron stole her heart, but when they had been told the wedding wouldn't be final without a proper witness, I vouched not for her but for Aaron. He saved me, so I would try my best to repay him. I did it even if it meant facing her again, only in another's corner of the ring.

"Uh-huh. I was shocked, too, because I had never heard your name before. She didn't talk about Dad, but she brought up you occasionally though she never said why."

"What'd she say about me?" Now she'd peaked my interest.

"Oh, they were all good things if I remember right. She felt bad for you growing up because you always were on the outs. After all, you did help her once. You were the one to warn her about sleeping around with Dad."

"That's right, but... I can't say it was out of anything other than jealousy at the time..." Yes, I had done it out of pure envy because he was having what I wanted for so long. Now it was nothing but a petty fantasy... Perhaps that's_ all_ it had been...

_"I'm telling you, Alexandra, that you're going to ruin everything..." I pleaded trying to convince my love to reconsider her actions. We both knew fully well what had been going on between her and Aaron. She didn't hide it from anyone although their ages were the major scorn of the whole affair._

_"Takakura, I'm an adult. I can handle my own affairs, thank you," she replied with a dignified huff as she pulled her hair into a bun. Her dressing room was little more than a prop shop, but she'd dressed her broken vanity with ribbons, bows, flowers, and letters. It was an alter to her desperation to be famous outside of this hell on earth._

_"But, he's no good for you! I'm the one who's going to save you from this dump!"_

_"How?" she demanded. "Are you going to be a boxer, Mr. Man? I'd be a babysitter for a kid like you. What I need is a real man!"_

_"A man?! Aaron's only fifteen!" I bellowed, my voice cracking._

_"He's more a man than you'll ever be!" she spat back. She hurled a hand mirror at my feet, and it shattered into countless fragments. Her face, twisted in fury, broken across the remains. "You street urchin!"_

In those days, it was an affront to call someone that. I had never felt so wounded in my life until that point, yet I couldn't blame that woman. Compared to her, I _was_ a street urchin in my shabby clothes reeking of the dock. A measly dock worker was nothing compared to a skilled mechanic which Aaron happened to be. That's why it was so easy to blame him for my troubles, and it was then that all my hate fell on him. Of course, my hate didn't last for longer than a month or so... How could it being that he was such a tender hearted man?

"Still, things never work out like we plan. I think her world really ended when I was born, and maybe that's why she despises me..." The girl sighed with drifting sadness, "I wanted to make her happy. I really did... though I don't think I could've done anything for her. She was too broken by the time I understood how much pain she was in because of my father and me. There's no other hurt worse than having your dreams crushed by one person..."

"You can't blame yourself for something like that," I reminded her quickly. "If you ask me, you're a great kid."

"I should say I'm not a kid anymore, but thanks," she laughed softly.

"Where's that cackle of yours gone?" I teased.

Tanya smiled and shared, "I worked hard on that laugh, you know."

"How do you work on a laugh?"

"I figured if I couldn't get her to like me, I'd get her to hate me something awful."

"Did it work?"

She leaned back onto the roof while Lilac looked curiously up at her barn, unsure of where her caretaker had disappeared. The mischievous sparkle lit in her eye, and I felt the joy rise in her cheeks. Her lips were spread in a wide smile as she answered, "I'm here, aren't I?"

--

Just as I had promised, autumn breezed into the valley. I rarely saw Tanya during the first week as she busied herself with all the farm work. I was too frantic with shipments of vegetables to give her any help which caused me to feel rather useless. She was sturdy enough not to complain, but I still worried for her. It had been about this time that Aaron began to crumble under the strain of both his body and his spirit.

He had never liked fall. It was the only time of year when he seemed absolutely miserable without having to frown. There are those who find the changing of the leaves to be a master piece, and then there are others who only see it as a symbol of things coming to an end. The latter, of course, is how he saw the season. He rarely talked about his dislike of that time of year, but he didn't have to say it for me to know.

As time went on and seasons passed, I was beginning to see the differences between father and daughter. She had warmth, and it lasted through any circumstance and extended to any individual. He may have behaved like a warm person, but there were times when one could see his coldness. Aaron was kind to everyone, yet he didn't seem to believe anyone was all that special. Of course, he never treated me in any disagreeable fashion. However, I was different than most people, too.

"Takakura, might I have a word with you?" a familiar, rickety voice demanded.

Turning round, I saw Galen stooped over behind me. His eyes were heavy, but he didn't seem any more displeased than usual. Both of us looked rather gruff, but neither one of us were angry or unhappy men. Therefore, I was a little startled by the firmness of his voice. He peered up at me over his long nose and forced a small smile.

"Sorry to bother you while you're working, but may I offer some advice?" he asked losing himself in the flow of the river.

"Of course," I replied respectively. "What's on your mind?"

"No," he relented, "this will never do. How about you join me for a drink this evening at the Blue Bar? Yes, that would serve better."

"I'll be there tonight then," I agreed with a perplexed air about me. A person doesn't normally get invited to share a drink by a gentleman like him. I knew he went to the bar with Dr. Hardy from time to time, but I hadn't spoken to the man while he was there. This would either serve to be a good experience or a bad memory. After the talking to I'd received from the physician, I wasn't too keen on another lecture. I also felt I didn't have much of a choice. I had been summoned. I could only nod and follow his instructions.

"Good man."

With that brief exchange of words, he tottered off after Nina who was undoubtably smiling kindly. I pondered how I could've ever thought of myself as an old man for so long until recently. I certainly wasn't young, but I definitely wasn't elderly. Still, I could image myself as Galen in a few decades, and given how he managed so well with his beloved wife, should I find a woman, I would be well off.

--

Evening came rather quickly as did the chill of an autumn night. I pulled on my jacket before stepping out into the cold brisk air at the end of the day. There was some trepidation concerning the topic inevitably at hand, but I had agreed to the meeting. I was planning on staying sober for this one, anyway. Lately drinking without Tanya wasn't as enjoyable, so unless she brought me along with her, I didn't wander that way. Maybe it was for the best.

Once I arrived at the Blue Bar, I saw Galen wasn't the only one attending this little meeting. Dr. Hardy was sitting with him, and the two were drinking in silence. Gustafa and Nami were present as well, but they were more concerned with one another than the two old men in the corner and a middle-aged man at the door. Muffy was leaning across the counter chatting with Rock, who I wasn't all that thrilled to see in all honesty. No one seemed to observe my solo entrance which meant I could relax some. Nothing worse than showing up without a date only to have everyone notice.

"Welcome," Galen greeted me. "You're a tad late, but I suppose I never set a time. I tend to forget such details from now and again."

"I'm sorry to have inconvenienced you in any way," I apologized as I sat down wearily. I was beginning to feel old again with these aged faces challenging me.

"As Galen said, it was a fault on our part," remarked his companion. "Would you like a drink? It'll be on us."

"No thanks," I answered dryly.

"You only drink when she's here?" the slouching character asked patiently.

"We noticed you're not trying to hide it from us," agreed the doctor.

"Dr. Hardy, I really don't feel I have to pretend not to prefer her company to being alone."

"True, true. It was merely an observation on my part. Galen's the one who wishes to speak with you tonight since I've shared my bit." He offered his friend with a smile, "Your turn to talk sense into this man."

"Thank you, Dr. Hardy. Takakura..." He began, nearly lost in thought. "Takakura..."

"Yes?"

"I know the doctor has told you to ask yourself whether you have the right to love such a young woman. Am I correct?"

"Yes, Galen, that is what we discussed after my injury." The nagging pull at my heart was becoming troublesome. I didn't feel comfortable in this conversation... if one could call it that. It was more likened to being an interrogation by two elderly Mafia bosses.

Sensing my discomfort, the oldest man smiled. "You don't have to worry. I'm not going to lecture you like a small child. You're certainly man enough to set your own path. Allow me to say this in a better manner, perhaps be slightly frank. I'm not upset in the least with your decision to stay with that girl."

Both Dr. Hardy and I gazed at him in bewilderment. "You're not?" I asked cautiously at last.

"No, I find your attraction to her to be quite admirable really."

"I don't mean to look a gift horse in the mouth, Galen, but why on earth would you say that?"

"Yes, I'd like to know how you can support this foolishness as well," demanded an irritable doctor, rested his head in his hand as he glared at his once loyal companion.

"Takakura, when I look into your eyes as you lose yourself in hers, I know what you're doing is right. You don't have the appearance or nature of a wolf after a little lamb. That love that dwells in you is both that of fatherly devotion and emotional connection. Such a love cannot be wrong in its direction. That is why I wanted you to know that I support your pursuit of her."

After closing his argument, Galen said nothing more. He merely sat calmly smoking his pipe as Dr. Hardy muttered and grumbled throughout the night. I found I could only sit there in a daze unclouded by anything outside of the dull sound of my throbbing heart. I hadn't needed his encouragement. I didn't need someone to back me. However, I _had_ wanted some acceptance. I longed for people to see what it was all about, even if I hadn't been sure myself. He had sat in the outfield looking reviewing the plays, reading the stats, and now he could offer his coaching. He knew as I know now that I truly loved her. He didn't have to question it any further, and now I wouldn't have to either.

I wasn't some skirt chaser on the hunt. I was a middle-aged man who happened to fall in love with a young woman. She and I had nothing to gain in profits or status by caring for one another, nor did I plan on being the center of the valley's scandal or town gossip. If anything, I wanted there to be no talk of it at all. I merely wanted people to accept my feelings as something of my own. They didn't need to interfere in my personal feelings, and I would chose who I let in on the details.

There was only one person I wished I could ask for approval...

_Old friend, I hope that's your blessing, but since I'll never know for sure, I'll have to press on without it. _ I prayed earnestly. _Just grant me whatever strength of spirit you have left. I won't let my life be wasted..._

--

**Author's Final Note:** Yes, Tanya is a bastard child, and her parents were unconventional if anything. Still, I like playing with ages although I'm starting too think I should've made Takakura a _little_ older than 33. A bit late for that, though...


	7. Chapter 7: Let Loose

**Author's Note:** I had to rewrite this entire chapter after re-reading it for the ninth time. The original first section was terribly choppy at best, so I hope that this is much better than the last (although none of you will have the chance to see the difference...) Anyway, there's quite a bit of fluff in this one which isn't my suit usually. Enjoy!

--

**Chapter 7: Let Loose**

The autumn wind is something fierce. It scatters the fallen leaves across the paths, so even those most traveled return to their natural state before man set down trails. Maybe this is why Tanya loves this season. There's nothing left to tie her to the life she had before, and she's found she can reinvent herself. After all, even I never knew her before that red envelope came into my possession. I couldn't have believed there was anyone like her. No one can seem to remember a Forget-Me-Not Valley without her as she's insisted so earnestly to become a part of it. She longed to be loved by everyone, yet she didn't have to do anything more than be herself. Like the brilliant red leaves of autumn, she refused to be ignored.

Perhaps that is what drew me to her, that willingness to be accepted. I, too, had sought that comfort in life, but I hadn't been bold enough to try. I had been too busy trying to impress a woman that never looked my way. All those years had been wasted, or so I had begun to think before Tanya came to live here. Now I can believe that nothing is waste. My feelings might not have been returned, but the love I had for Alexandra had brought me to Aaron. When I threw myself into that street brawl, I may have been crippled, but I found a friend.

And, yes, that friend did die, but because of his death, I now have his daughter by my side.

"Things progress and people move forward. If we fail, we've still learned something valuable. I'd rather have a hundred failures to learn from than a hundred successes to forget," she had told me over dinner that night. I had begun to pride myself in home-cooked meals which she practically inhaled. Ruby was right to tell me that there's nothing better than seeing people enjoy good food.

"Did you get that kind of advice from a book?" I asked, only just starting my supper while her plate was all but licked clean.

"Nah, I'm not much into that kind of thing. I always end up just reading the beginning until the middle, and then I jump to the ending."

"Doesn't that ruin the whole story?"

"Exactly why I don't like to read."

"That's too bad." Her response was a shrug as she started in on her strawberry cake. I rarely baked, but since she had mentioned in passing the day before that it was her favorite, I ended up gathering the ingredients during my morning trip into town. She marveled at the moist texture which she complimented ecstatically. In her excitement, some white frosting had landed on her nose, and before she could even laugh at her own childishness, I wiped it away with the tip of my finger and tasted it. Of course she blushed although she didn't say a word.

Moments like this were our secret. No one else in the valley could've imagined how we behaved when alone on the farm. Though neither one of us would admit it to each other, we had begun to flirt nearly non-stop while on the job. A playful shove from me here, a comment on my butt from her there. Should anyone have witnessed it, I can only imagine what they would've thought. Surely they'd like to believe it had been their imagination. There were times I wondered if I could really be acting this silly for a woman.

Regardless, I was more than happy to play the part of a fool if it meant becoming closer to her. Tanya was a rare bloom in a place where people lived such quiet lives, and though I felt I knew her best, I would have one wonderful surprise waiting to come the next day. One that I never could've anticipated.

--

Forget-Me-Not isn't really known for its festivals. There are times when Gustafa brings the residents together for some folk music beside his yurt and under the sky, but outside of that very little seems to happen here. We all prefer it that way to be honest. Living here, you get to know your neighbors without having to be formal about it. However, we do have a tradition for the harvest since the valley hosts two local farms. The festival is a simple one, so only Vesta's crew and Ruby come down to the Blue Bar for the event... _normalll_y. Even so, Tanya was anxious to go.

"When do we have to be there, Taka?" she asked for the hundredth time that afternoon.

"I told you earlier that we'll head over there around five," I reminded her as gently as I could manage. There were times her excitement grated me though they were luckily few...

"Oh, that's right. Sorry, man," she apologized looking a bit disappointed. I had joined her in the fields to help her collect strawberries because she'd planted so damn many that season. What was frightening was she'd told me she'd only be selling about half the crop. I tried to convince her to be reasonable and realize she couldn't possibly eat them _all_ before they became rotten. She had laughed it off, proudly telling me that Daryll had been kind enough to give her a seed maker. She'd been planning on using it to cut costs. "No way in _hell_ could anyone eat that many damn strawberries!" she had teased.

"Ah, shit..." I moaned, leaning back to crack my spine. "I'm not made for field work..."

"You gonna be all right?" she asked, pausing to give me a worried glance. After my knee brace was gone, she still concerned herself with my well-being. She was a regular doting wife when it came to my health those days. I guess she still felt guilty about the summer's incident, both the shove into the frigid water _and_ her opinions on my self-appointed label as an old man. It didn't matter how much I assured her there were no hard feelings because she was convinced she'd wronged me. As to be expected, there wasn't much I could say to change her mind.

The two of us finally finished the task at hand, and-to her joy- we made our way to the Blue Bar, ingredients in hand. Tanya ran ahead of me, chatting like a child, and I could only laugh and remind her to watch where she was going. I swear she looked the part of a kid on the first day of school, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

Since the late afternoon's weather was so pleasant, Celia suggested moving the festivities outside under the tree which shaded the bar. The girls spread a checkered blanket out on the grass, and while Griffin, Ruby, and Vesta made short work of the cooking, the girls sat down to talk as Marlin and I leaned against the trunk watching the two enjoy themselves.

Men are strange when they find someone to love. Suddenly, all the words fall between comrades as soon as the women they fancy bring them along together. Each man's mind is occupied by thoughts of their special someone, and there's nothing they'd rather discuss. That being the case, they _certainly_ aren't going to say anything on the subject to another _man_. That's just how it sorts out.

Luckily we weren't waiting in an awkward silence long. Ruby brought out the food while Griffin followed suit with the drinks. Just as they were sitting down, Gustafa, Nami, and Cody wandered on over to greet us which meant Tanya was eager for them to join. Pretty soon the group of seven became ten, and we were all busy talking and having a good time. I'd never been on a picnic before, but I'm sure we had done it right. There's nothing quite like having this sort of neighborly atmosphere. In the city, people rarely know the man down the street, let alone someone a couple miles in the distance. It wasn't much, but it was something to take pride in.

As the sun set, the autumn chill crept over us, yet no one seemed to mind given the good time we were enjoying. Celia wrapped herself up in the blanket while snuggling in next to Marlin, making the poor man blush and stutter the rest of the evening. Vesta leaned over to Ruby explaining that she'd caught the couple at this sort of behavior when they thought she wasn't looking. Of course he denied it stubbornly, but Celia merely giggled without saying a word in their defense or otherwise. I wondered if anyone had caught Tanya and I with _our_ antics. Then again, not everyone is as nosy as Vesta...

"Come on, Takakura, be a gentleman!" the big woman instructed me with a wide grin. "Your woman looks cold over there!"

"My what?!" I protested, ripped of my security once again. What could she had possibly seen across the river?

"You heard her," Marlin replied with a smirk, no doubt taking pleasure in Vesta's change in attention. I'd have to poke some fun at him another time...

"Ah, leave him alone," Tanya mentioned casually, drinking her second Stone Oil. _I had kept my resolve to limit her drinking after the spring incident._ "I don't need his coat when this'll keep me warm."

"Damn right," Nami agreed, raising her own glass. No one else was sure what the drink count had been for _her_. However, Gustafa had been keeping tabs on her, and now he decided to caution her though I reckoned his advise came a bit late.

"Should you stop, Nami? You're a little... off," he commented gently, not making any sudden movements. Cody nodded in solemn agreement.

"Naw," she assured them, brushing aside their concern. "I know my limit."

"If you say so..." Obviously the gnome wasn't convinced though he let the issue drop. I guess you learn not to argue with a woman like her after being at her side for so long. Too bad his efforts weren't adding up to much, not that he appeared to mind. It's hard to read a man who hides behind beatnik shades even in the dark of night. He reached around to grab his loyal guitar. Strumming a few bars, he began to smile broadly as he fell into song. I may not really understand the fellow, but his melodies are pleasant. We all sat in content silence, letting the music do the talking.

Celia started to drift off to the soothing lullaby of his voice while Marlin tried in vain to look away from his blushing girl. I questioned myself whether or not I should ask Tanya to dance when I happened to glance her way. She had an expression I'd seen before, usually when she plans on making mischief. Just shy of catching her, I watched as she went to Gustafa's side. Her eyes followed his fingers as he played, and once he noticed, the music abruptly stopped.

"May I have a go at it?" she asked him kindly, the spark of her will lighting up in her face.

He gave her a smile and nodded, handing her the instrument. She played around with the strings until she appeared comfortable, and then to my surprise, she began to break into her own rhythm. It was a faster pace than his, but though the tune was lively, she handled it with ease. Her voice rang out with everything she dared to let loose. Alexandra would've never sang that way, and I suppose that's exactly why it suited Tanya so well. I assumed she had created the piece herself, for the lyrics were all too familiar. The song was of a woman falling for an older man, and try as she might to get his attention, there was something holding him back. The young woman knew what she wanted, yet she found she couldn't find the words to tell him. It was a truth we both knew very well indeed.

She must've sang like that for what seemed like hours. Her audience all stared, mouths agape in wonder. The only ones not caught in our amazement were Gustafa and herself while Nami appeared to be drawn more to the man beside her. She had been studying him for some time as he remained oblivious to her pointed stares. Without a word, she tugged on his striped sleeve, and when he turned to face her, she kissed him on the spot. Though he was clearly bewildered, he whispered under his breath as she drifted away, "Nami, I think you've had enough."

I heard Tanya stifle one of her signature cackles while she continued to play, and the magical night wore on until the music stopped at last late into the early morning.

--

"You didn't tell me you could sing like that," I scolded gently; we were walking along the path which led to the waterfall after the festivities were over that night. My mind was still reeling from the event. Never could I have imagined seeing her being so spectacular. She had always been the forward one, but she kept such a powerful secret from me. No way could Alexandra have been so brilliant as to pick up a guitar and play her _own _music. Perhaps it was her daughter's way of showing her up. _Look, Ma, I can do it, too! In fact, I might just be better than you!_ was what I heard in her voice that night.

"Heh, I was afraid you'd compare me to my mother. I don't mind being like Dad, but I don't want anything to do with Mum."

"That's okay,"I assured her with guilt nagging at me. _Hadn't I sworn to myself I wouldn't compare her to either one of her parents? "_She wouldn't have been that bold, so I really can't say much on it. I don't have an ear for it anyway."

"Gustafa and Griffin do," she observed. "I think Gustafa knew I could sing something fierce. I would sing for him from time to time, but his tunes are more folk songs than what I'm into." In the full moonlight, I could see her smile shyly. She had been keeping the secret pretty tight, I guess, and she knew I wouldn't have talked to the man on my own. He was a bit... peculiar. Still, I felt happy for the guy. Nami might've been a bit tipsy, but it was still a kiss. The man deserved at least one for all his efforts to win her only to be met by two ice blue eyes.

"I was wondering who was buying those records from Van," I recalled rather suddenly. She certainly had a collection. Over twenty albums if I remembered correctly from what the salesman told me the other day. I had asked why he'd been supplying his shop with them so earnestly when the only two people in the valley to own a turntable were Marlin and Tanya. Her record player had been her only belonging other than clothes to come with her to Forget-Me-Not, and she apparently kept it well stocked.

"Yeah..." she blushed, "I sing with those all the time when no one's around."

"It's weird I never heard you..." I said while trying to search my memory for any fragments I might have caught without notice. "With a talent like that, there's no way I would've missed it."

"Because I waited for you to leave home," she explained.

"Why on earth would you do something like that?" I grumbled. "I would've _loved_ to hear you sing."

"I had to wait until Gustafa taught me to play my own music."

"Oh, so you had to keep it between you until then?"

She only nodded in agreement. For Tanya, she was being rather sheepish right then; it was as if something serious was weighing on her mind. When I saw her shiver, though, I decided to take Vesta's advice, and I calmly placed my coat over her shoulders. In the shadow of the trees, I couldn't tell if she was embarrassed. I did hear her pull it tighter around herself as she sighed contently. I imagined she looked quite adorable in the oversized jacket with just her head peeking out.

"Hopefully they were sober enough of a crowd to recall it in the morning," I chuckled. It really would be a shame for them all to forget something so wonderful. Here I had been thinking she was just one hell of a _farmer_, and now I'd found she was an amazing _singer_, a trait she kept locked up inside her for something special.

She bashfully smiled, "Even if they _do_ forget, that'd be okay."

"What would make you say something like that?" I asked out of sheer bewilderment. I figured she'd _want _people to remember her performing. She was so quiet and modest about the whole show which wasn't in her nature. Normally she'd be more proud than a rooster after what she accomplished. It just wasn't like her _at all_.

Right then, the moon ducked behind a single cloud, and I felt a gentle, gloved hand moving my head to face hers. I couldn't see her any better, but I knew she was looking up at me like no one else _ever_ had. Her body moved into mine so calmly that I found I couldn't breathe. I heard her stifle a chuckle and felt the queer sensation of her lips. They weren't soft or silky after being weathered and chapped by the elements, and there was a remarkable taste of strong liquor. Even so, I had no doubts it was the best thing to happen to _this_ man. She held that kiss for long enough until the moon began to creep into view again. Only then did she drift away from me, her violet eyes glimmering with something outside of anything I had known before.

"Because I know," she whispered in my ear, "you'll _never_ forget tonight."

--

**Author's Final Note: **So Takakura's first kiss comes at the end of a really confusing and dysfunctional chapter. XD Oh well... Just for reference's sake Tanya's personality was roughly based off of the legendary Janis Joplin who was a hell of a singer during the late 60's into the early 70's.


	8. Chapter 8: Advice from a Brother

**Author's Note:** This is more of a filler chapter than anything else, but I think it's some fun character interaction. In-game Takakura mentions while showing Jill around Forget-Me-Not that the villagers across the way are "a little strange" for his tastes. Inspired, I felt I had to give Gustafa a chance to shed some enlightenment on our man's feelings for Tanya.

Enjoy my completely self-indulgent chapter! XD

--

**Chapter 8: Advice from a Brother**

"My what a voice she has," I heard someone declare in my direction.

I should've known who'd say such a thing, but I still turned to see despite that fact. The "long-haired, leaping gnome" was sitting at his usual post beneath the tree that shaded his yurt. I had never spoken at length with Gustafa, not even at the Blue Bar, for he and I were opposites in every way though I do admire that trait in the valley. However, I never could've expected to have a heart to heart with him. Still, he motioned me over, and I had no reason to refuse his invitation.

He waited until I had shifted my body down onto a small log he had set as a chair. Behind his beetle shades, I wondered what he saw in the world. His songs never made much sense in my mind, but I didn't really have a creative license to begin with. "So you were impressed, hmm?" I asked rather stupidly.

"Of course, man," he said with a grin. "Even someone not musically inclined could dig that voice of hers. You're a lucky man to hear it more often than most, my brother."

"Well, she's never sang for me, either," I informed him somewhat grudgingly, being that she had performed for _him_ exclusively until this point. Not that I was bitter about her keeping a secret from me...

"That's a drag, really," he sighed with a slight frown. "I always felt she fancied a cat like yourself."

"She claimed she wanted to surprise me, I guess," I remarked with some double meaning. "However, she did tell me she sang for _y__ou_ a few times."

"Yes, but it was nothin' like that night's jam, man. She needs the guy playing behind her to really pump it through, you dig? I play too soft for a voice like hers."

We sat in silence for a moment. Gazing up into the branches above me, I grimaced to see they were bare. There wasn't a single, lonely dried up leaf to be seen which only reminded me that another season had passed. Soon winter would set in, and I'd be stuck making deliveries in the snow. _That_ was an ugly thought in itself.

"How are things with Nami?" I asked quietly, trying to think on another topic. I didn't want to think of the chill although I suppose Nami wasn't all that _warm_, either. I doubted very much that anyone got the fuzzies when her name was mentioned. Then again...

"Oh," he whispered, pulling his green brim down over his eyes. "She doesn't even remember. I had Muffy ask her..."

"Couldn't you ask yourself? _You_ were the one she kissed..." I pressed with some reluctance. Gustafa was so open with how he felt, yet he hadn't been the one to find out how she felt about him. It was sad, really. The woman had stumped even him, I guess. _I_ sure as hell wouldn't be able to figure her out.

"Nami's defensive enough with me as it is," he replied giving me a soft smile. "She keeps everything she feels inside."

"Does that come with travel?"

He thought on this before offering a kind reply, "Not always. I enjoy sitting for a spell with all kinds of people, but being a poet, it's sort of what I do." He continued to dwell on it for a moment and added creatively, "I collect stories to share. Nami keeps the tales to herself."

"I see..." Yes, that certainly made some kind of sense although I was normally dense with pretty wording. Still, I understood enough to make a coherent idea out of it. "Hey, the love songs you write are about other people then?"

"Some, but others are my own experiences, man," he admitted with a bit of sadness in his voice. "Why do you ask?"

"Listen, I'm not one to talk about love or anything, and it's rarely on my mind-" I started while feeling my cheeks warming to what was probably a nice shade of scarlet.

Gustafa interrupted me, placing his hand on my shoulder, "There's nothing wrong with loving a woman like Tanya, brother. In love, age doesn't matter, man. If you feel groovy with a woman, it'll just happen."

"Thanks," I mutter, blushing a little more at the surprising comfort I found in his touch. "I'm sorry I never had the chance to sit with you before now..." I confessed with a slouch, "I thought you were a bit strange for my liking..."

"No problem, man. I know I'm not a hip cat in this scene with my crazy digs an' all," he laughed, gesturing to his striped shirt, leather vest, and bell-bottoms with embroidered flowers, "but I keep true myself. All is groovy with me, man."

Smirking, I called him out. "You talk like that on purpose don't you?"

He merely answered with another smile.


	9. Chapter 9: Burning Bridges

**Author's Note:** Because of the last chapter being sort of a let down for many of you (I'm assuming anyway...), I decided to double update to make it fair, and this one actually has a purpose. Yay! XP Special thanks for all the wonderful reviews!

_Please do not use Alexandra as your own. She's a character I came up with for this story exclusively._

**Chapter 9: Burning Bridges**

"So, you'll bring a bull from town here then?"

"We don't have any other choice at the moment," I reminded her calmly. I could feel her staring daggers into my back although I'm sure it wasn't me she was particularly upset with. "Besides, it's all we can afford to do since winter's already here. The calf will be born in spring, so it's a smart idea to breed her now."

"I guess I have to trust your judgement on this," Tanya relented, handing me the gold necessary. "I just wish that damn rancher didn't charge so much for some bull."

I chuckled. She could be stubborn when it came to shelling out money, but it kept the farm running smoothly and profitably. That was another difference between Aaron and herself. He was never good with finances, and we often lost more than we gained. It was a miracle she had her mother's business sense. Otherwise, I'm positive the whole operation would've caved in before the next year.

"Hey, don't you go catching a cold," she warned, handing me my hat. "You really need a new cap. More body heat escapes from your head than anywhere else."

"Then why is my feet are always cold?"

"Because," she informed me, "your damn boots have holes in them."

The serious look on her face as she pointed at the offending clothing was rather cute. Still, I knew she was just being a brat. "If I had my own money, I could buy myself some, but a certain _little lady_ keeps going to the bar and drinking away my share," I scolded playfully, wagging finger and all.

"No one said you had to pay every time..." she whined. Those violet eyes of hers were getting dangerous, and I saw the smirk creeping across her lips.

"You don't have to," I replied smugly and kissed her on the forehead. "Don't worry, I'll save up some coin for a pair of new boots."

"Good," she dismissed me with a bashful glance back, heading towards the barn to get Lilac ready for that afternoon. I was still surprised to see her hair down out of that ridiculous ponytail. She insisted she would only keep it that way until spring's warmth came again, but I half-heartedly wished she'd let it hang over her shoulders. After all, it made her look so much more like the woman she was inside. Beautiful and free...

--

Walking to town has always been sort of my little getaway. Here I can follow my own path without having to spend the time with anyone, and for a long while, that's how I preferred it. Just me and a dirt road, point A and point B. It had gotten harder to think that way, though, since Tanya remained in the valley. She had only taken this route twice while I had done do so for seventeen years. There were things along it she had probably never noticed, things I took for granted.

_I wonder if I should take her to market one day?_ I thought happily while getting ready for the morning rush. _She'd be a good vendor... with that demanding voice of hers..._

I set up my stand in the small alcove of the market building just outside of town. Though the winter chill tried to forced its way towards my booth, the activity that got stirred up every morning kept it at bay. Produce was stocked in colorful rows of temptation while dairy was cooled in open view of customers. Butchers displayed the fine slabs of beef, pork, and lamb on meathooks as patrons pick and chose the marbled meat. It's a place of comfort, where old tradition meets today's competitive nature.

"Remember Farm" is painted on the small sign above my meager stand. I'm always surprised to see how well we seem to come out every trip into town, for I can't image why anyone would feel compelled to visit just for the sake of the name. I have regulars though they aren't consistent throughout the year. However, they continue to boast that I provide the best dairy around given the fresh air of the valley and the comfort of the cattle. I don't doubt that's the case, but whatever it may be, it sells.

"Thank you, Miss Rosie. Oh, have you got it?" I asked the elderly woman while she fumbled the egg carton. She was a petite lady, so I often worried her goods never made it home in one piece.

"Ah, yes, Takakura. I just had to adjust myself," the woman laughed shakily. "Have a good week."

"Yes, of course."

"My Takakura, you seem so different these days," commented another familiar voice. She was a small girl, yet she spoke very politely.

"I must admit I'm feeling younger," I confessed.

She giggled and chided, "Good because you certainly were never old to begin with. So tell me, who is the kind soul that got you to change your ways?" I only blushed. Not waiting for an answer, she left with a giggle of sorts.

The market day went on like this until my stock was cleared out and my ability to small talk began to wear thin. While closing down my stand, I did happen to notice the most peculiar woman sorting her way through the mass of venders putting away for the afternoon. She wasn't the type of woman one would see at the market, for normally women of her dress had the funds necessary to send out someone for their needs. However, as I caught sight of her face nearing mine, I realized her identity immediately.

"Alexandra, it's strange to see _you_ here," I breathed.

Drawn out of her daze, she spun around towards me with a startled look in her violet eyes. She let out a defeated sigh and said weakly, "Oh, Takakura, I did not recognize your voice at first. It is not as light as when I saw you last."

"Well," I noted shyly, "when you saw me last, I was just a boy."

"That is very true," she agreed in a more comfortable tone. "Actually, I came here looking for you after I had heard you were coming to this market. You know it isn't far from my home here in the city."

"Of course. How could I forget?" That seemed to please her.

"Would... Would you care to join me this afternoon?" she asked delicately, imploring me with her purple gaze.

"May I ask why?" Meeting with Alexandra was peculiar in itself, but I was curious as to her motives for inviting me back into her home after seventeen years. She hadn't even attended her husband's funeral, much less visited him in life. Though he wrote her every season, she never returned any word. Now of all times she had come to contact _me_?

"Although I do not appreciate being questioned," she huffed, getting her daughter's pout. "allow me to simply have the pleasure of asking about my daughter. It is true that I have very little to discuss on the topic of yourself or that dreadful property, but I wonder about Tanya these days..."

"Every well," I relented with a sigh. "Please, could you show the way? I haven't had to go to that house for nearly two decades..."

--

Victorian houses are uncomfortable enough without having to be the home of the woman who betrayed your feelings, betrayed your closest friend, and then betrayed the girl you've come to love. It was frightening being there. There was a terrible silence in that building, for the tickings and tockings of the clock seemed to drown out everything, even air. I felt disturbed while I sat and waited on that unyielding chair. The house was empty, no one could live here.

"So sorry to keep you waiting. I have not made coffee myself since Aaron lived here. I forget, do you take cream or sugar?"

"Neither," I replied dully.

Alexandra had aged quickly. Though I knew she had reached forty, I never would've imagined she'd seem so very old. Her eyes were all but dead, and her once thick mane of hair had thinned to cobwebs. Glaring lines traced around her mouth and forehead, yet I doubted they were worn from smiling with any real meaning. Her manner of dress was the only familiar trait with her renown old-fashioned garb.

She forced a smile and handed me my coffee. It was nothing more than a tea cup, and so the contents were gone fairly quickly. I couldn't help but feel as though I were a part of a young girl's game while sitting in that ridiculously dainty chair and table set. _How on earth could Tanya have survived here?_

"Forgive me for arriving at the heart of the matter," she apologized, rushing right into conversation. "I wanted to ask how in the world you came to the conclusion that Tanya should take up her father's plow? Society would surely argue that a woman is not capable of such labor." Her steady stare unnerved me.

"The times have changed considerably," I reminded her with some scorn. "A woman has all the opportunities of a man in this day and age. Forget-Me-Not Valley may be tucked out of the way, but _no one_ there holds onto an old philosophy like that."

"My, my you still have that angry tone. I suppose it is really no surprise given how ragged you have become over the years. Is that leg giving you trouble?" she fawned her concern. Her words were meant to wound deep like a vicious bite.

However, I kept my composure as best I could. I, too, could fake a smile. "Well, after watching a dear friend die, you can become rather bitter, I suppose. Speaking of which, I don't recall seeing you there at the viewing _or _the ceremony."

Alexandra blushed then, yet whether it was from embarrassment or annoyance, I couldn't tell. "I'm afraid I was worried because I would not have known anyone present. Besides, do you not agree that it might have opened old hurts?"

"I'm sure _Aaron_ would've liked to have seen you there. His _daughter_ was kind enough to put the past behind her."

"_That_ is because she is just as much a dreamer as her father ever was," she retorted sharply. "I told her nothing of him to_ prevent_ such behavior, yet it would seem she insisted on being difficult concerning that matter."

"Perhaps you could've been more compassionate towards her?" I suggested, thinking back to the day she first held that puppy of hers

_"All she asked was that I get good grades and dress up for company. As long as I did that, she didn't care where I went or with whom." _When Tanya had said it, my heart shattered. I could only image her sitting all alone here while her mother shut her away. No wonder a child would go to the scrap yard to be in the friendship of dogs if her mother gave her the option only to serve as an ornament. It was an awfully lonely image of what was now a vibrant girl.

"Being that you have never had children of your own hardly gives you the right to lecture me," she warned sharply.

"You're right. I never had children, but that doesn't mean that you have anything over me. I still know how I would treat _my_ child if I should ever have one."

"Do you not feel it is a little late to be considering raising a family, Takakura? You are an old man now, after all."

At one time, I might have agreed with her on that point. No... I _would_ have. Even so, I was not the man I used to be, and I wasn't going to let a woman who had let herself die tell me otherwise. I stood stubbornly and confronted her.

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that you feel I'm an old man since this _old man_ is considering marrying _your_ daughter."

The look of outright horror plastered on her face was rather amusing, really. Once the gape of shock was gone, a twisted furious grin replaced it. "Surely," she scorned, grinding her teeth, "you _must_ be joking..." Her withered hands shook violently as she set down her tea cup, the saucer clinking rapidly.

"No. I'm am _positively_ serious," I mocked her tone.

"_You..._ Do you have any idea of what you are_ implying_?!" she gasped, standing up while clutching her breast.

"I just happen to." I crossed my arms across my chest and dared her to challenge me further. What did I care about her opinion of me? Her daughter clearly wasn't going to have anything to do with her just as this woman had rejected her in earlier days. Had Aaron been the one against my decision, it may have made things much harder to bear, yet I felt my friend would've been behind me.

"Tanya would never agree to such a proposition," she scoffed. "She_ is_ my daughter, after all. I was the one who raised her, not that worthless _father_ of hers."

"I'd like to believe I _know_ her more so than _you_, Alexandra. She's a wonderful woman..."

"She is nothing more than a child! And you... _You_, Takakura, are nothing more than a letcher!" she spat, pointing an accusing finger towards me. The expression on her face was that of a defeated woman. She was no longer the dainty Bird of the Boarding House; she was an ugly, old shrew. Her hair was a tangled mess of thin thread, and her clothes were torn and torn again. I had only seen the facade of her perfect exterior shatter once before when her husband had told her of his dream.

_"Why? So we can lose everything to another crazy scheme?! This house, this life, this integrity?! I have given up everything I _dreamed_ of when I had that mistake of a child! _Your_ child, I might add. And now, now you want _me_ to follow_ your_ dreams?!"_

A mistake is worse than an accident. A mistake is something you despise so greatly that you want to erase it from existence. At least an accident is never hated. People take responsibility for an accident, but no one wants to admit to a mistake. Tanya couldn't be a mistake. She was too kind, too loving. This shrew of a women in front of me had made the real mistake. She took her duty as a mother for _my_ girl like a chore, a curse even.

"You must be senile, Takakura," she snickered. "That's it... You have simply live in the _delusion_ that my daughter could ever love you. You_ poor old man_..."

"No," I rebuked her, "you're the one who's lost it all."

She stared blankly at the floor and muttered a spiteful, "Get out..." I turned on the heel of my boot pocketed with holes and did just that. No one could have held me there any longer. When the door shut behind me, an agonizing sob came from within the little doll house. Barbie had come to realize that she was plastic all along. Nothing more...

--

"I was waiting for you!" Tanya yelled furiously. "Where the hell _were_ you?"

"Sorry, I got caught up with someone... I didn't expect to see her there..." I apologized, rubbing my neck shamefully. In the flurry of the afternoon, I had completely forgotten the bull. Now I was getting a lecture from another woman, her _daughter_ no less...

"Who was she?" the girl asked, curiously calmed.

"Alexandra..."

"What the _hell_ would make _her_ go to the _market_?" she asked aloud. Her stumped expression was rather cute, I had to admit.

"She had something to talk about, I guess."

"Did she seem mad at me? I'm sure she was..."

"Yes, she was, but does it really matter all that much?" I asked cheerfully. "I doubt she'd come here to drag you home."

Tanya grumbled, crossing her arms, "If you could call it that..."

"Hey."

"What?" she looked back up at me. I felt as though I had just slapped her...

"I just want you to know something. Don't get all upset with me, but I have a promise for you," I told her gently as I leaned towards her, placing my hand on her shoulder.

"Come out and say it then," she ordered me, tears already brimming.

"You were never a mistake," I whispered kindly in her ear. "Don't let her or anyone else let you think otherwise."

She looked at me with those misty violet eyes, and before I could comfort her myself, she wrapped her arms around my waist and cried. She garbled something inaudible, so I had to ask her to repeat herself a little clearly. All I heard was a small "Thank you, Taka," while she buried herself further into my chest.

There are times when we need to reassure ourselves of our worth, and when we can't do it on our own, we have to ask someone else to do it for us. Aaron was able to help me see that, and in that single moment, I passed on the lesson to another. While she cried in my arms, I realized how small she truly was. She had always felt she so small, too tiny a person to really matter. I only hope I helped her to see how wrong she was about herself.

_If you feel you have no one to love you, please... please let me be the one._

--

**Final Author's Note: **If you find yourselves thinking, "What a bitch!" that's sort of the point...

Special Thoughts: Alexandra's character was fun to write, and I purposely had her talk without using conjunctions because I felt it made her sound more full of herself. Although I _love_ Victorian houses personally, I figured Takakura wouldn't feel comfortable in one. Lastly, the idea of a man like Takakura, in muck boots and with an anchor tattoo on his arm, sipping coffee out a tea cup was _very_ amusing to me...

I hope you enjoyed this installment!


	10. Chapter 10: Dead Heroes

**Author's Note:** This chapter has the final details concerning Aaron, the mysterious deceased father and friend. I really like Aaron because he's rather... peculiar. I always had a thing for characters that weren't all what they seemed. Before I wrote _The Takakura Tales_, I had a piece called _The End_ dealing with that figure from the game which I never finished. Although it wasn't "Aaron's" story, I've begun to think I should write something similar for him.

As for this chapter, it's a little slow since it's mostly Takakura's memories, but I felt there needed to be some closure concerning the formerly mentioned. Enjoy!

--

**Chapter 10: Dead Heroes**

"How did my father die exactly?" Tanya blurt one night. Not that I should've been alarmed by such a question from my friend's daughter, but the words gave me an awful start.

A winter storm raged outside, blinding us from seeing as far as the barn. After a sudden power outage, she had fought her way through the wind with Scraps over to my cabin, and it appeared as though we'd be bunking together for the night. With her on my bed and me on my spare futon, of course.

Tanya had come over to my place hungry again, and I was working to oblige her need for good cooking. Stew seemed appropriate due to the chill. We would have to eat over candlelight although I doubted every much that being snowed in at my house was very romantic. However, I was grateful for her company, and the pup wasn't causing any trouble sleeping in the corner of the room.

Although I would've preferred to ask my own question, I decided to give her an answer that I had been dodging since that red envelope first passed under my gaze. There was a strong chance I didn't want to relive that breath-stealing winter, yet the day had finally come where I'd have to lay it all out on the table.

The only question that remained was where to begin. "Aaron never told me he was suffering, so I can only guess when it started," I explained. "I believe I might have saved him in the end if I had."

"Don't tell me what could've happened," she pleaded, taking my calloused hand in own. I was surprised to find her hands were soft, but even so, that wasn't the moment to love or be loved.

"You're right. Let me tell it to you plainly...

_Spring came early the year before last. We had little to nothing but what we had brought with us, and I sincerely doubted anything good would come of our efforts. Being the eternal optimist, he merely smiled and promised me a last chance for success. Though he never bet a coin, he was a gambling sort, I suppose. For better or for worse, he believed we could make it on whatever we managed to earn that coming year._

_Throughout that entire season, we worked until I swore we'd collapsed in a mound of dirt only to wake up and do it all again. Though our crops grew, there were little to no profits, and I believe that's when it began to dawn on the man that his dream might be coming to a premature close. Loss of hope may be a fact of life for some, but I imagine it crushed Aaron's spirit._

"It was after that he started to die, wasn't it?" she interrupted, her head buried in her arms while her hand still rested on mine. I was afraid she'd begin to cry, but maybe that was the best thing for her to do. I felt as though all I had been doing lately was making her feel just plain awful inside. I began to understand the truth could be a very cruel thing...

"Yes... It was a slow, dying pain which took your father away day by day...

_At first, I could hardly notice, for I hadn't learned to look beyond the smile. He simply didn't know how to express sadness or depression. He never truly knew what was expected of hardship. If there was a rough patch in the road he was on, he'd press on or turn in a different direction. However, in this instance, he could see the dead end, nothing beyond or around it. Maybe he had taken too many forks in the road to know where he was heading?_

I paused trying to remember when I had known he was wasting away. I thought it may have been near the end of summer, but there was a nagging notion long before. Seeing her expecting misty eyes, I continued.

_By autumn, he had grown haggard. His body had once been strong and ready, but soon it became frail and hollow. The glassy gaze that came into his brown eyes told me how dire the transformation was. Aaron was invincible until that point in his life. Needless to say, he gave up when life was at its hardest. I hate to put it that way, though, because he had acted as my hero for so many years._

Tanya nodded sorrowfully, her eyes fading and her lips drawn in. Her grip on my hand tightened, urging me to go on. I held back my own yearnings to end it there, and I pressed on with caution.

"Your father had many friends here in the valley, but I suppose you've heard this yourself. The people here welcomed his vigor and spirit as much as anyone could. No expects a man like that to lay down and die quietly, and I figure that was what shook this valley when he did just that. He didn't fight or struggle. He let it _all_ end.

"However, I should tell you this as well. He may have slowed down to a near crawl, but... your father kept working this farm until the day he died. As I told you of him giving in, I was referring to his soul. The outer affects came after the death of his heart. I'm sure he had let that die a season before his body threw itself down in the pasture. I..."

"You found him... under that cherry tree..." she finished. I merely nodded, choking back my own bitter tears. To see the man you held above all others lying in the snow, returning to the earth before your very eyes is to know the most gut-wrenching suffering. It was winter, and the pasture was as dried up and as dead as his limp body.

_"Dammit. Dammit! Aaron, don't you die on me you mother fucker! I can't forgive you for it if you're dead, you asshole!" I sobbed over his rigid body as I dragged him into my cabin. I knew it was over for him... for us as a team. It broke me, too, because I had nothing then. I was alone..._

Those had been my ugliest thoughts. The day I found Aaron dead cold as the snow he lay in... I became the young man I had been when I first hated him. I damned him for nearly seven days while I intoxicated myself, drowning in nearly every vice within my grasp. It was a sour time for me to be living. We had always joked during his life that I was the old man, but this time he was the one who had died.

Suddenly, I felt a tug on my pant leg which pulled me out of self-pity, and I saw Tanya was beside herself in fitful sobs. She couldn't say a word as she cried for her lost hero. Although she never had to tell me, I understood what he meant to her. She, too, had lost her idol. He had been knocked off of his alter by the truth I told. I regretted breaking her dreams of what he meant to her. I shouldn't have told her all those horrible truths I had known.

_Be anything like your father just... promise me,_ I feared. _Promise me you won't die his death. Not now..._

And that was all I need from her. That simple vow which meant nearly everything to me in the moment. She rested her head on my lap and cried until she fell asleep, like a small child needing comfort, and when I felt her breathing relaxed and even, I eased her up gently and bundled her lithe body into my arms. Her head rested on my shoulder as I took her over to my small bed. I'm certain she stirred, but she let me carry her there. She was too emotionally exhausted to refuse.

Once she was tucked into the warm covers, I heard her whisper in a voice I had to strain to hear as she drifted back to her dark sleep. "I promise... Takakura... I promise..."

--

**Final Author's Note: **I've never seen a person die that way, but I don't doubt it happens. What's worse, I wonder. To die because you didn't have the inner strength to keep on living, or lose a hero because he wasn't willing to keep moving forward?


	11. Chapter 11: Making Promises

**Author's Note:** I _promise_ that this will be the last "troubled" chapter. Usually this stuff comes near the beginning of a story, but I feel that when you find yourself in love with someone, hurtful things begin to have more meaning, making you stronger as a pair. Too bad Taka and Tanya both have to submit to my logic (sorry, guys...)!

I hope you all enjoy!

--

**Chapter 11: Making Promises**

I never could've known I would come to love this girl so dearly. Barely a year after receiving that beautiful letter, the writing simple yet elegant, I had fallen hard and fast for her. Though I hadn't read it through more than once, I didn't have to. What she had written was scrawled in my mind. Over and over I would think on the voice that pleaded with a man she only knew in passing all so she could escape her city life. Or maybe something more.

The letter rested in its bright red envelope on the nightstand. It had once sat alongside a frame with a photograph, but it's companion had been purposely forgotten elsewhere after an episode of childish defiance. Now the letter stood all alone, and perhaps I found it better this way. There was no longer a reason to yearn for the image of a woman I had come to loathe.

A letter is far more valuable than any photo. You can fake a smile, but letters are special. You could lie in a letter, I suppose, although I find it'd be a waste of the effort. Besides, there's no way Tanya wouldn't have wrote exactly what she meant.

_Takakura, don't you find it strange how some people come to meet one another? I could easily call it fate, but I prefer to think my father wasn't destined to die in order for us to come together. I suppose that may sound just as cruel, being that I barely knew the man's name let alone his face; however, I feel you're a person who would understand..._

Yes, I understood. When we met, I was bewildered by her. She had "borrowed" her mother's black, floor-length evening gown for the somber event, and everyone seemed to confuse her with an endless list of possibilities which included: she was his young girlfriend, a childhood companion, a cousin, a niece... In fact, _I_ had mistaken her for that once beautiful image in my mind, yet the excitement had vanished after I came to see who it was. She was surprised as well at first, but then she laughed and introduced herself with a hearty-handshake,_ "Tanya, as in, 'good to know ya!'"_

"Takakura," I heard a voice over my shoulder. Glancing back, I saw her covered in top soil and animal hair. Without that unflattering dress, she wasn't a doll in a shop window, for every ounce of her was hers alone. No one else could be remotely like her. "Hey. Is it okay if I rest for a while? I know it's morning an' all, but I'm a bit down today."

"Why? Aren't you feeling well?" I asked with obvious concern. Since when did Tanya ever take a break from _anything, _let alone farm work?

She slipped in a quick smile before shaking her head. "I've just got things to think about."

I recalled the conversation a couple nights before, and with a reassuring nod, I let her go. After hearing about the true diagnosis of her father's death, she had changed somewhat. Her cheeks were ashen, and the once youthful light in her violet eyes had faded. She was like a flickering flame near the end of the candle, and as I considered where I had seen the gaze in her eyes before, a grave worry began to overcome me.

_How can I be so blind?_ I asked myself, jogging out my door after her. I stumbled into her house, only to realize no one was there. The bed was made, the wood stove remained untouched. Frantic images began to swirl within my mind gone mad. Her throwing herself into the frigid ocean, diving into the rocks from one of the mountain tops, or hanging from a roof beam all were tragic endings that surged into my thoughts. I was desperate for a message from the only person who could know...

A familiar sight caught my eye as I shot out from the shack. There, lying in the snow where a person much like herself had once laid before, was Tanya. Her body sprawled out onto the powdery pasture, and though I had hoped she would reply to my call, she remained quiet. Nothing moved... nothing changed... With all my will power, I pushed myself into a run, leapt over the low fencing, and swept her frail body into my arms.

"Tanya... Tanya!" I cried out, trying to shake her back into consciousness to no avail. She was peaceful, appearing to be only sleeping like those fairy tale princesses where all I needed to do to wake her up was kiss her. But this was no fairy tale.

My heart... stopped... Here she was, laying in my arms, and I may have already lost her... I was afraid all along... I should've never said a word about what happened... I could've let her believe he had no part... in dying like he did. But... I...

"Taka..." she breathed at last. Her eyes, though still faint and far away, slowly opened glimmering into something resembling life.

Relief could not even wash over me before I hurried her into the house. I flew her home, like a crippled angel with one wing left to carry her. Her skin was burning, but at least I knew death's chill hadn't stolen her away. She yelped a little being handled so roughly although she didn't openly complain. I even saw the remnants of her old smile coming back. It was only then that I knew she'd be all right.

_Thank the Goddess._

_--_

A tad less than a week or so, she was feeling far better. During the time she was ill with whatever disease had befallen her (_I_ surely wasn't going to carry her in my arms to Dr. Hardy), I had taken the liberty of being the all out everything man. Since who knows how long ago, I did far more than go to the city market every morning. I started and finished my day by her schedule which meant waking up at the unGoddessly hour of four in the morning and going to bed around midnight only to do it all over again.

She watched me carefully from her little bed. Tanya didn't ask for much, but she certainly didn't argue with the special treatment. She had always enjoyed my cooking, but because I was so overcome with the happiness of knowing she'd still be with me, I seemed to relish in it. It felt so honestly good to feel I wouldn't be alone. After all, she had kept her promise.

"Why do you worry about me so much, anyway?" she asked one evening. "I haven't really done anything to deserve it."

I smiled, holding her hand as I told her, "Because you're the only one who ever bothered to care about a man like me."

"Don't you _dare_ say you're an old man," she warned, face set and firm. I had no doubts she could still win with a strong argument even hampered by the flu and tissue stuck up her nose.

"No, I'm not gonna say that," I laughed. "What I wanted to say is, that letter you sent me was the first one I had ever gotten. No one thought it was necessary, I guess."

"So _that's_ why you kept it for so long!"

"Maybe, but I have another theory. Do you remember what you wrote on the last line?" Her blank expression was there for an instant before she smiled so beautifully. She didn't say a word, but she waited for me to say it for her. "Yes, Tanya. I kept that letter because it gave me hope. I knew I didn't have to be alone."

_I don't have to know anything about you to see what a good man you are, Takakura. Since I first saw you that sad day, all I can think is, 'I have to work on that farm and be by that man's side... forever.'_

--

**Final Author's Note:** Ugh, these past three chapters were brutal. I can't write angst, _at all_.


	12. Chapter 12: PreGame

**Author's Note:** I'm so happy you can marry Griffin in DSC. He's not Takakura, but that's okay. It's as close as I think I'd ever get... Oh, speaking of our main man, someone I chat with suggested that I write a Vestakura one day. I had thought about it at sometime ago, but I'm not sure... I still think Taka/Jill is better (and more fun), so I hope you enjoy!

--

**Chapter 12: Pre-Game**

Alcohol has always been willing to comfort me when no one else could. I suppose it works that way for a lot of folks. It can bring people together, or it can rip them apart just as well. I'm fortunate being that I have friends to share my pleasure with. Alcohol helped me stop running away while friends kept me from trying again.

I had wandered down to the Blue Bar ahead of the usual crowd. I didn't want an audience of any kind outside of the man I wished to speak with on a pressing matter. A new face lingered in the back corner. a meek business man by the look of him. However, I wasn't in the mindset for introducing myself, and he appeared to be the type I expected to return. Griffin was my objective although I wasn't hoping for a cold one at the moment.

"Takakura, you're alone this evening?" the bartender observed, cleaning a shot glass. He seemed much younger than he had in a while. In fact, he had a sheepish grin hiding beneath his mustache, and I couldn't help but hear the tune he had begun to hum. I recognized it instantly, and it quickly brought me back to another time not so long before.

"Likewise," I returned, noticing Muffy had slipped out for the time being. "Is she on a date?"

"No, she went to see Celia today. Apparently there's some big to do that's going to happen." He chuckled as he told me, "You know how women can get when one of them has someone special."

"Of course," I replied with equal amusement. It always struck me as unique that Tanya had never displayed that kind of behavior. She and I were one of a kind, I guess. According to her, her life had been the rough and tumble teenage years that I remembered in my own youth. Unlike me, though, she felt it had made her a better person in the end.

_"I don't regret a single day of fighting in the streets or getting kicked in the teeth while I was down and out. Guess I didn't tell you about that. See these two in the front?" she showed me with a forced smile. "They're fake. Mum was gonna be damned if her daughter walked around with two chipped teeth given how much I show 'em. I'm still missing a molar, though..."_

_Then she laughed, maybe at the memory or my stunned expression. "Don't worry about it, Taka. I'm not that feisty anymore!" _I doubted that very much, but I was happy to know I wouldn't have to drag her ass out of a bar fights one of these days. I may not be an old man; however, I doubt I could take her on in a drunken fist fight. She was too scrappy.

"Speaking of which," he continued, polishing another glass while bringing me back to the conversation, "I see how you've gotten yourself a lady friend, too."

Bartenders are probably the most honest folk you can find. When your liquor won't hear you all the way out, the man at the counter surely will, and maybe the barmaid will console you as she fetches you another. I surely didn't need comfort tonight, though. What I needed was one final push in the direction I was already heading. Just a last precaution for what I planned to do by the end of the next season if I timed it right...

"About that," I said gruffly, trying to hide my enthusiasm in the chance I sounded too vain, "I have a question for you."

He propped up against the bar casually, eye to eye with me, "Shoot."

"What'd do you think of me hitching up with Tanya one day?"

Griffin leaned back a bit, a stern look on his face. I faltered a little in the back of my mind, but I chose to ignore it. The man liked to appear disapproving while he thought a matter over. He couldn't hold it, and soon enough he was giving me a small grin. "I figure that's up to her, isn't it?"

"Yeah," I agreed as a held breath washed out of me. I shouldn't have fretted about my friend's judgement, but you never can tell who's going to back you up in times like these. He was a fair man, after all, and although I was certain he had heard some grumbling, he wouldn't give them a second thought. I wouldn't have to know anything more than I wanted out of him, either.

"Have you picked yourself up a blue feather yet?" he asked further. I had known that question was to be brought up, and I felt a warmth come over me as I recalled the treasure in a small shoulder satchel I carried to keep my earnings. With a brilliant flash, I showed the precious item to him. He looked rather shocked at its size and vibrance, but then it eased into a smile. "How in Goddess's name did you afford something like that?"

"Not a penny out of pocket," I replied matter-of-factly.

"The Goddess must be awake to have blessed you like that, my good man," he said with a chuckle. "You have my blessing, son."

"Thank you, father," I joked back.

"What are you two laughing about?"

I slipped the feather back in its hiding place without a single knowing glance from Tanya. The matter was still being worked over in my mind, and I wasn't going to let my one chance slip away whether for better or for worse. Even if I was guaranteed her acceptance, I didn't want to let the moment be too brief. Besides, the bar wasn't exactly my idea of a romantic setting although Marlin might be to differ...

"Are you gonna sing for us tonight?" the bemused bartender asked. He had admitted to me on another occasion that she brought the inspiration in him to pick up where he left off as a young man. There certainly had been a lot more sightings of his guitar in his hands those days.

"No," she answered to our disappointment. "I want to kick back tonight. I've got to get back into this working life again," she said leisurely. "_Someone_ had to spoil me rotten almost two weeks ago.

"You got better, didn't you?" I snubbed playfully. Flirting in public? I was getting stranger by the day...

Tanya didn't seem to notice how flimsy a sweet-talker I was. She just cackled sneaking in a "yes, yes" in between. She probably figured I was rusty at it after all these years of straying from a scene of poorly fashioned one-liners and giggles. I wasn't for any of that really.

Soon the bar began to fill with patrons and friends alike as the early evening became the night. Nami came in first with Gustafa trailing behind after her. He'd been making some slight leeway in wooing her somewhat cold heart, but he was far from succeeding as of yet. Everyone did their best to reassure him that she simply took more time than most. Being a patient fellow, he had to agree it was going as smooth as possible.

Cody then shuffled in sometime later to his end of the bar on the other side of Nami. He had that studious look on his face, but he grunted a few replies whenever possible. if just for the sake of being polite. The twins didn't make an appearance seeing as the very reason they came was notably absent, yet I waited, stealing glances at the door, for Marlin to show.

Realizing my thoughts, Tanya shook her head. "He had a date tonight, remember? Muffy wanted the two of them to join her on her trip to the city."

"Oh, right. I forgot about that..." Then a thought happened to cross my mind, "How do you think he'll manage with Muffy tagging along?" I couldn't imagine him having any patience for the giddy barmaid, especially during a day on the town. She was far less modest than Celia, far more emotional, and I doubted he would have the tolerance to make it through the even without blowing up at least once.

She smiled broadly and replied, "I'm sure he'll be steaming by the time he comes back. He really enjoys his alone time with his girl, you know."

"Are those two getting married any time soon?"

Tanya merely gave a heavy sigh, swirling her amber Stone Oil in its glass. "I think he likes things to move nice and slow," she said at last. "Poor Celia..."

"Hmm, I think she likes it that way, too..." I disagreed, pondering it for a moment. Yes, those two certainly liked things to move at an even, steady pace.

"How about you, big man?" she asked in all seriousness.

"Me?" I asked perplexed. She nodded for me to continue, her face eerily focused. "Well, I-I don't rightfully know to be honest. I never really had to deal with that sort of thing..."

"I figured," she smirked. "That's why I had to kiss _you_ first." Although he tried to hide it from his end of the bar, I caught Griffin raise an eyebrow only to smile to himself.

"Good thing you remembered that detail," I remarked casually. I had been having fun teasing her about drinking more than she could handle after the spring incident. Given how many times she had mocked me for my meal promises, I was having my fun while it lasted.

"Did you really think I forgot?" she interrogated me gently with those violet eyes of hers winking like stars. "I wasn't tanked unlike _that_ girl over yonder," she noted with a thumb jerk behind her head.

Nami shot her head up like a red-hot firecracker while her cold blue eyes pierced right through the man beside her. "Gustafa, what's she talkin' about?"

The hippie just hid his face beneath his green hat, his eyes remaining sheltered behind his beatnik shades. I could practically hear the man beg in this mind for her to keep herself from becoming irate. _I_ wouldn't look forward to that possibility, either. Loving a woman like her was difficult enough since she chose to come across frigid as ice.

She certainly was fiery then though to most folks she'd still look cool as a cucumber. It takes someone who's see her around a while to peer beneath the apathetic exterior. However, she could be rather stubborn about getting her questions resolved. Being that she couldn't get an answer out of her suddenly quiet companion, she turned to Cody with flames burning on her cheeks and in her eyes. "What is she sayin' about me?"

"Gustafa," he mumbled. No response from the gnome, who'd sunk further into his stool.

"What about him?" Nami demanded further. Griffin and I exchanged uncertain glances while Tanya roared with laughter. She had a cruel streak when it came to these events.

"A kiss," the artist tried to explain in as few words as possible.

"He _kissed_ me?"

"No," he patiently explained, "you kissed him."

"Oh..."

Oddly, that was all she had to say on the matter, sitting back down next to Gustafa. I watched his shoulders fall into something of relief when she settled in again. It was an awkward silence, both of them just drank without another word. I can't say for the dwarf, but I knew she wasn't looking in his direction. She rested her head in her hand and questioned Cody with her eyes. He wasn't going to say anything more apparently.

"Well," Tanya frowned, "that amounted to nothing."

--

**Final Author's Note**: You see, Tanya, not everyone burns right through relationships... Although I love pairing Gustafa and Nami, I don't ever think they'd be the type to get married. That's not to say they don't love each other, though. Nami is also probably the hardest character for me to write because I feel she's... complex, and it's easy to write her out-of-character. However, I'm probably just being too hard on myself again.


	13. Chapter 13: Eyes on the Road Ahead

**Author's Note:** Man, I thought I was done with being depressing! This part actually reads a lot like one of the heart events in AnWL now that I think of it. It's short, though, so I'm going to post the next chapter today also. Enjoy!

--

**Chapter 13: Eyes on the Road Ahead**

Winter was coming to an end as buds began to show on the lonely tree standing on its own in the cold. I hadn't come to visit Aaron as often as I should. It was bad enough he was in the frozen earth without having to forget about him being there. When he first passed away about this time, I had sworn I would forever remain at his side. Here it had been only a year, and I was already faltering in my resolve.

I was finding it more and more difficult to talk to someone who couldn't answer. Conversations are hard enough without them all being one way messages to places unknown. How was I to know he could even hear me?

_I'm going to go through with it one of these days soon,_ I informed him. _I'm just not sure when would be the right time, you know? There's not exactly a manual for a woman like Tanya._

That little thought made me laugh inside. She had been putting all of her energy into nosing her way into someone's business again although one party involved didn't seem to mind. I can't say for the other since she's next to impossible for me to read. Even so, I wasn't worried about Tanya getting herself into too much mischief. She had a good head on her shoulders when she was willing to use it. There was a chance she'd know when to keep her opinion to herself. Maybe.

_You should see how she's been acting lately. She's a special young woman. I only wish you could see what she's done with the place..._

Abruptly standing up, I gave my surroundings a once over. There were so many things that had changed since Aaron's death. No longer was the pasture bare and lifeless, for Lilac could now munch happily on the plentiful outcroppings of hay. The once empty chicken coop sounded with hens' gossip, and the fields on either side were filled with grade A produce. Soon there would be a third one at the back of the property once we scraped together enough by summer.

_By then I'm hoping to be a married man,_ I absently thought. Yes, it looked as though everything was beginning to fall together instead of apart.

However, "pride goeth before a fall," and I was half expecting one to turn up. After all, what had I done to deserve all this goodness in my life? Had I been forgiven for the hurts I'd given in the past?

"Daydreaming there again, Taka?" a familiar voice asked from beside me.

With a panicked glance, I saw a face reminiscent of another's. I had forgotten how much she sounded like her father, not to mention her looks. Figured that I would notice after forgetting the dead man so soon. "Just remembering..." I told her dully.

"You do that too much," she observed, stretching her arms enough to create a popping noise. She was looking mighty worn though it had only just turned into the afternoon, but given all the work she'd been doing to prepare for spring, I reasoned it was natural. She'd made a new promise not to overwork herself again because I suppose she knew I couldn't handle the additional stress, either. Tanya could tell when something was up with me. I only prayed she didn't identify it. That would ruin the whole thing...

"I know," I agreed with a slight smile. "I can help but think about the past, I guess. It keeps me from making the same mistakes."

"That's good an' all, but I worry about you," Tanya said shyly, digging into the ground with the toe of her boot. "A man like yourself shouldn't be dwelling on what was or what could've been. It makes you feel old when you aren't."

After a somewhat defeated sigh, I tried to laugh it off. She caught me. Every moment I let my mind wander into times gone, I came out feeling older than my years. The trail of events was always the same, but I didn't seem to learn my lesson. Though I swore not to make the same mistakes, I would fall back on the biggest one of all.

"I'll be all right," I assured her as best I could. "But thanks. I'll keep it in mind."

"Well, that's what advise is for," Tanya teased, elbowing me in the side before taking my hand in hers. "Oh, by the way, Vesta invited us to dinner."

"Really? She's not the one cooking is she?" I fretted, screwing my features into something ugly just thinking about it. The woman could grow the best produce around, but the quality of the ingredients doesn't matter much if they're burnt.

The young woman cackled, wrapping my arm around her shoulder as we started on the path leading to the bridge. She's happier than anyone else in this world. Of course she's had her hardships, and her memories aren't the brightest. Though all of this is true, her smile is one that never truly fades. She's cheerful even when all she wants to do is cry. Because she won't let herself be sad for long, there's no room for it surrounded by all the good things in her heart.

If a person appreciates all the little things, happiness adds up into something wonderful. And so, she gathers them carefully as her collection grows and grows. With it, her joy bursts inside her until she can't help but smile tirelessly. I pray that it never fades away. Until her last breath, I want Tanya to remain the most beautiful soul on this earth.

Of course, I also want to be the one to make it that way forever.


	14. Chapter 14: One Last Push

**Author's Note:** Another spit in Gustafa's hat with this one, hence the double-post. You know, I wouldn't mind being proposed to one day with a blue feather. Call me a geek, but I think it'd be a sweet gesture since I love the games so much. Besides, who needs a gaudy engagement ring? I'd just lose the damn thing...

--

**Chapter 14: One Last Push**

"Tanya, there's something I wanted to ask you..."

_No, that wouldn't do. Too cliched..._

"Tanya, your father..."

_No, she told me to quit thinking about the past._

"Tanya, please accept this feather..."

_No, that sounded desperate._

"Tanya, I know I'm an old man, but..."

_Hell no._

I had been standing in front of the mirror for the past week trying to get the words right. The setting would be perfect as would the engagement blue feather, but without the words... everything else was pointless. If I couldn't say it_ just_ right, then I couldn't go through with proposing. My newfound pride wouldn't allow it. So I started again.

"Tanya..."

--

"Taka, guess what?" she asked merrily, her voice bright as the spring day.

"Hmm?" I responded, my mind drifting off elsewhere to some time ahead (I could only hope it happened soon). We were out in the field again while I rested on my hoe and she carefully planted a watermelon seed. My stamina had increased steadily working in the gardens with her. No longer was I just the man who cared for the livestock's needs, but I'd become a well-rounded farmer though animals remained my forte.

"The calf was born this morning!"

"Really?" Well, I _had_ been experienced in it... Seemed the birth slipped my mind beneath all the fluffy thoughts that had replaced concerns over Lilac and her calf. "Well then, is it a bull?"

"Yeah!"

"Did you name it Ferdinand?" I teased in a mockingly serious tone.

She laughed, replying, "No! His name's Benny, and he sure as hell isn't interested in sniffing flowers!"

"Lilac's a flower," I noted with a grin. "You can bet he'll be sniffing her when the time comes."

A look of horror crossed her face as she spat, "But that's his _mom_!"

--

The day was leaving me in the dust. Although I had hoped my chance would come soon enough, I was disappointed to find it came a bit _too_ quick. I _still_ hadn't found the words I needed to express how I felt. Yet again, I found myself strolling alone through the valley aimlessly. I had tried to sort all the emotions out while standing idly on the beach, blue feather in hand, and I had sat there studying it for some time before shuffling back towards the farm. Evening was falling into night, I observed.

A sweet melody drifted my way, and I glanced over to the fanciful yurt perched on a gently sloping hillside. The gnome in his green hat was playing a peaceful melody while the last rays of the sunset shone on the strings of his guitar. He exuded confidence without arrogance. I had learned to admire that in him.

"Nice song," I complimented him flatly. He didn't seem to notice the indifference since he most likely heard something quite similar out of a certain woman. He merely smiled.

"Thanks, man. It's just for my own enjoyment is all. Need to sit a spell?"

"Yeah, something like that," I agreed, easing myself onto the stump. Gustafa was excellent at reading people. A part of me envied that though with someone as open as Tanya, I didn't need the ability. Nami was lucky to have a man with so much insight for herself. There were times I doubted she could know her own thoughts without his interpretation.

"I'll give you an ear if you need me to lend one," he offered, setting down his guitar to give me his undivided attention. I had to wonder, not for the first time, what lay behind the beetle shades. When he looked at a man like me, what did he see? A stranger who spent his days living off the land, or a welcomed friend and neighbor he could offer guidance to? I was sure it was the latter, knowing what little I did of him. He genuinely _cared_ about people, and he was always willing to be there for those he considered friends of his. It was a good thing to be a part of.

Grateful for someone to listen to my insecurities, I began nervously. "Well, you see, I... There's Tanya... and then there's me... and a blue feather."

He grinned and replied, "That's great, man."

"It will be... once I gather what I want to say to the woman," I confessed sheepishly. "I'm not like you, Gustafa. Words... they escape me. You may be able to put them together and make something beautiful, but for me... they fall out in a jumbled mess of things. There's no order to them..."

Picking up his guitar once again and tuning the instrument, he thought on what I'd said. At last, while toying with the strings, he shared his view on it, "Takakura, I never put words in order. They end up that way because I let them. When the lyrics come into a song, I have very little to do with it. Nature's my muse, and the melodies form themselves. I only lend my voice to them." Like a prophet, he sat legs crossed and back straight as he spoke these all-knowing words to me. He would be one hell of a preacher...

"What should I tell her then?" I asked in desperation. "How can I tell her how I feel?"

Taking a hand to his hat, he lifted the felt fabric away to scratch his head. I tried not to gawk as I came to realize the man was bald on top. He chose not to show any notice my short-lived stare although I saw a slight blush across his cheeks. After placing the hat back over his bare dome, he replied, "How _do_ you feel?"

"I-I..."

Gustafa smiled once again and slid his shades down his long nose. I was met with two blue eyes, more intense than Nami's ever could be. They laughed kindly at me as he told me in his worldly wise way, "All you need to say is 'I love you,' and that girl will be yours forever."

--

**Final Author's Note:** Yeah, the little bit about the bull was a crack I have for the game. Luckily there's no fault in the game for having the parents and offspring mate; otherwise, there'd be a serious in-breeding situation on my farm. Maybe that's why Daryll's convinced I'm cloning cows? XD


	15. Chapter 15: Over the Edge

**Author's Note:** Sigh... There's only one chapter left following this one. It hardly seems real that this tale is coming to an end so soon since it only took me about five days to write the whole thing and type it. I'm only sorry this chapter isn't very long, but I felt I couldn't drag the scene out any more than what's here.

I hope you'll all enjoy this chapter! Like Takakura, I sometimes have trouble putting all the right words together, so I appreciate all the support I've received!

--

**Chapter 15: Over the Edge**

My legs were heavy, threatening to pull me to the earth, and both my head and my heart were thundering, pounding in unsteady rhythms. The confidence Gustafa had given me washed away with every step I took on the forest path. I certainly had been given enough encouragement although I doubted Dr. Hardy would be too keen on the idea. Still, as far I could tell, he and Alexandra were the only ones to object.

Overhearing from Griffin on what I set out to do, Muffy had offered to keep Tanya busy for the day to help me clear my thoughts. I wouldn't think she'd be at the spring already although I couldn't see her being the type to girl-talk for much longer. I chuckled at the thought of Muffy chattering to a young woman who couldn't care less about Patrick's athlete's foot. Yes, it shouldn't have been any surprise for her to be there before me.

Even so, all I could think was _Oh my Goddess..._ when I saw Surge grazing beside the mysterious giant oak. An unsettled feeling came into my chest, but I accepted fate as now or never. It left me a little shaky, though, which I suppose would've existed regardless of whether she was already present or not.

I did a quick search for her with my eyes, yet she eluded my sight. I didn't need to look long before her distinct voice caught me from the shadows. "Oh good, you're here then." I must've jumped since she began to laugh softly. "Sorry 'bout that. Didn't mean to scare you."

"I-it''s okay," I tried to assure her though my nerves were obviously frayed. She raised an eyebrow. but she was kind enough to take my word at face value. However, her violet eyes continued to linger on me patiently searching for something. Because of her curious intensity, I had no choice but to look away. I could feel my cheeks beginning to warm as I tried to speak again.

"Taka, what's wrong?" she asked at last, clearly troubled herself. She had crossed her arms, and her ever-present smile was gentle with concern or pity (I wasn't certain).

I drew my first even breath and began to walk down the enlightened path with my hand cautiously around her wait. "Don't fret about me, Tanya. I'm a bit nervous is all," I confessed. "There's something on my mind..."

"Are you _sure_ I shouldn't be worried?" I wanted to sneak a glance at her, but I knew I'd start stuttering if I did so. Therefore, I kept my gaze straight ahead of me as I guided her along the path.

"Not really. I don't think... It certainly isn't a _bad_ thing."

"Just _tell_ me then," she insisted, stiffening at my side. "If you don't come and say it, then I'll never know what you're trying to say."

Typical of Tanya, frankness was the best remedy for any unsorted feelings. I genuinely smiled for the first time since meeting her there. Normally, a confrontational attitude wasn't what someone admired in another, but she managed to behave this way without offending. In fact, it was my final encouragement.

"You're right." We were standing before the spring which sparkled in the glow of the mysterious blossoms. I felt the chill of its power and influence flow through my body and mind as I closed my eyes and breathed in deep. The setting was more than appropriate, the timing was perfect, and all I needed... were the words that said everything. "Tanya," I said at last.

"Hmm?" she was leaning into me gently, and I felt myself relax just a little.

I took my hand from around her waist and turned to see her head on. The soft light fell onto her face, reflecting the night's wonder in her gorgeous eyes as she stood patiently waiting for me to make a move. My heart wavered, but I pressed on.

"Do you remember how I suggested you find yourself a husband?" I asked plainly, meeting her violet gaze.

Her expression was a bit befuddled, but she nodded that she did indeed recall that moment. A small collection of tiny, light-hearted giggles came from the oak tree, but I didn't pay it any mind although Surge certainly seemed interested... All I could make out were three itty-bitty tuffs of color, red, blue, and yellow. However, I refused to allow my thoughts to wander. I _had_ to do this...

"Well, you don't have to look anymore... that is..." I fumbled a bit to find the precious treasure tucked safely in my satchel. When I felt its soft touch, my cheeks flushed scarlet, but I kept myself together enough to lift the meaningful object into the light of the moonglow blossoms. Tanya let out a little gasp, but she said nothing, waiting for me to say the words. "That is... if you'll marry _this_ man."

I was right when I thought that setting would fit the mystical blue feather. Radiant colors of indigo, violet, and emerald danced on its cerulean surface as smooth as the spring itself. She was speechless (a first) in her wonderment in its beauty. Her gloved hand held it before her eyes as if she was uncertain it was a part of reality, not some cruel dream she'd fallen into.

"Taka... are you... are you sure that _I'm_ the girl you want to marry?" she squeaked. "I mean... I'm not exactly..."

"Tanya," I said quietly, closing the small space between us, "you're no more a girl than I am an old man._" _With that, I kissed her more tenderly than even I could've imagined, and I held her fast against my chest, not wanting to ever let her go again. She melted in my strong arms and let me be her everything. Yes, I was crying silently from both happiness and relief and so was she, but we aren't the type to gush with, "I love you"s. I didn't need to say those kind of things to Tanya because she knew without a single word of it.

I've never cared for a woman more than I did her. Where there was once an empty space, she filled it with everything that was herself. Even when he was alive, Aaron couldn't ease the ache I had from being hallow all that time. I guess I have to thank him for bringing this wonderful little lady into my life... which by default includes Alexandra. too... But in the end, _I_ made the decision to love her.

And right then she decided to love me... for all that I was worth.


	16. Chapter 16: Message to a Star

**Author's Note:** Let's frost this cake, shall we?! There's _a lot_ of Takakura talking to Aaron in this happy conclusion, so prepare yourselves. I just have some special shout-outs for this final chapter.

**Orangen: **Thank you for being awesomely supportive of this story from beginning to end! Your comments always made my day special. :D  
**DragonDamsel:** I wanted to thank you for your wise critiques because they're so strong, and I know that with your advice I can become a better writer.  
**Tia Ordona 23:** I was happy to know that someone enjoyed my descriptions and characterizations so much. Thank you!  
**poesumo: **Thanks for being so excited about every new update. I was always glad to know someone was so giddy to read more!

Also thanks to **DemonDude12**, **chocolatebonbons121**, **turtblrdr**, **Catgirl AnimeFreak** for your wonderful comments! And a final thanks to everyone who happened to read _The Takakura Tales_!

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**Chapter 16: Message to a Star**

_Old friend, although I have to wonder if you've ever heard a single word from me, I suppose I should say how things have been since I spoke to you last. It's strange to be talking to you like this when I can't know for certain where you are. I guess it doesn't really matter, does it? You have the right to know what I've been thinking for the past three years, and I can't find a better time than the present._

_The night I proposed to Tanya was the moment everything seemed to fall into place. My heart's not so broken anymore though there are times when I can't help but see you in her. I suppose that makes sense being that she is, in fact, your daughter, and I shouldn't be so hard on myself for seeing it. I only wish you could be here to be a part of our happiness, too._

_I should've told you when it happened, but my mind was a bit... occupied with things for a while there. You see, we had ourselves a little boy about two years back, and let me tell you, those terrible twos are certainly that. Dr. Hardy explained it's perfectly natural for them to behave this way as kids at that age are learning the boundaries in the world. If you ask me, the old man's probably still grudging me for marrying the boy's mother..._

_Ah, forgive me, Tanya and I agreed on Ike for our boy after Muffy suggested it one night at the Blue Bar. Don't worry, I wasn't going to let my pregnant wife near so much of a drop of Stone Oil after we were told she was expecting. I ain't a damn fool. Anyway, apparently the name Ike means, "He will laugh," and given how much I expect he'll be like his mother, it fits. As of now, though, he does a lot more screaming than laughing._

_He's got your family's feet by Goddess, and the poor lad is starting to grow my eyebrows. I can only hope he learns to live up to his name and laugh it off should Kate start to tease him as badly as she does Hugh. However, I'm certain that Tanya will give the girl a talking to if Ike can't handle it on his own. I've got to admit he'll make up for those quirks when he looks at a woman with his violet eyes, though. I'm not looking forward to offering him any dating tips in the meantime as I'm still not the man he should be asking to begin with._

_Still, we adore the boy, and I'm proud to say he already has an interest in the farm. I see him in the pasture from time to time with Lilac and her new calf Daisy. He also was trying to plant an acorn the other day while his mother and I were working in the fields. Ike even rides Surge when we go to visit Marlin and Celia with their new baby girl, Isabelle. You should see how our friend goes all doe-eyed when he's holding her in his arms. Who would've thought the sullen fellow that was our drinking buddy would be such a gentle father?_

_Then again, no one could've guessed a man like me could be married to the daughter of his deceased friend and partner? Not to mention, father her child._

_Gustafa and Nami are still taking things awfully slow, but I reckon that's just their way. Neither one of them are really the type to settle down, and if it works, good for them. When Tanya and I do get time for ourselves at the end of the day, we still wander down to the Blue Bar to see them and the others. Outside the property, things are as quiet as always, but none of us would have it any other way._

_She's amazing as ever... Not only her smile and laughter, but her heart, too. I don't think there's another woman who is or could've been better to me. Every night just before we toss ourselves into bed to get ready for the next morning, Tanya and I give ourselves a chance to look up at the stars. It's summer now, so she's happy that she can see the brilliant red one shining over the ocean. She swears that that's exactly where you are._

_Apparently, she managed to squeak out of Alexandra that your favorite color was red when she was young, so I guess that's why it's her favorite, too. I still have the letter tucked away in its envelope from the first time she contacted me. I'll always have it near by, just in case I happen to ask myself how she came into my life. After all, Tanya became my everything... She still is, and I believe she always will be..._

"Come on, Taka!" I hear my wife call from over the fence. "Let's eat before Ike starts crying again! You promised to make dinner, right?"

"Coming!" I holler back, much to Lilac's displeasure. She's no longer afraid to graze beside my old friend as the grass has grown up over him. I'm not exactly sure myself where he happens to lay although I know his body's here. I've come to accept that I really shouldn't sit beside this tree any longer when I decide to talk with him. I don't have a right to hold him back any longer. He needs his chance to move on, too.

Just as dusk is beginning to fall, I look out across the horizon to see the brilliant red summer star winking at me. Perhaps Tanya's right, maybe Aaron is that very twinkling light looking down on us...

"Taka!" she shouts again and in the distance of our home, I hear Ike begin to wail. I can only shake my head in defeat as I haul my tired ass off the ground. This family business is gonna turn me into a _real_ old man one of these days...

Striding over the fence posts, I meet my wife with a gentle kiss before taking her hand as we walk towards the cabin. Her violet eyes sparkle when her gaze meets mine, and she throws her head back and laughs that crazy crackle of hers. Even though there's no reason to, I laugh along with her because it feels right.

_Yes, my friend. Everything is all right in my life... and it just so happens to be because of my lovable Tanya._

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**Final Author's Note:** When I named Ike, I really had no idea it meant "He will laugh" in Hebrew. I only found that out after looking it up right before this was posted.

I really hope you all enjoyed reading _The Takakura Tales_. It certainly was a fun adventure, and I'm happy how it all came out in the end.

Peace and Love


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